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AUTHOR: 


GUIZOT,  FRANCOIS 

PIERRE  GUILLAUME 


TITLE: 


HISTORY  OF  THE 
ENGLISH  REVOLUTION 


PLACE: 


HESN  YORK 


DA  TE : 


1846 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES 
PRESERVATION  DEPARTMENT 


Master  Negative  # 


Restrictions  on  Use: 


BIBLIOGRAPHIC  MICROFORM  TARGET 


Original  Material  as  Filmed  -  Existing  Bibliographic  Record 


1.^ 


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Qvdxot,  Francois  Pierre  Ouillaame^  1787-1874. 

Histoiy  of  the  English  revolution  of  1640,  commonly 
called  the  great  rebellion :  from  the  accession  of  Charles  i 
to  his  death.  By  P.  Guizot  ...  Tr.  by  William  Hazlitt. 
New  York,  D.  Appleton  &  co. ;  Philadelphia,  G.  S.  Apple- 
ton  ;  letc,  etc.]  1846. 

xxi  p.,  1  1.,  f25i-51S  p.    19^*".     ( Appleton's  literary  miscellany,    no.  8-9) 


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1.  Gt.  Brit.— Hist— Civil  war,  1642-1649.         i.  HazMtt,  William,  1811- 
1893,  Tr.  — 


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THE 


EIGLISH  llEMiintHlf-^ 

OF  1640, 

COMMONLY  CALLED 


THE  GREAT  REBELLION: 

FKOM  THE  ACCESSION  OF  CHARLES   I 

TO   HIS   DEATH. 


■I  i 


«THOR  OP  «  H.STORV  OF  C.T,UZAT.pM  ,N  ,UpoP.,»  '.tc.,  »^. 

^     »    J     T      3         J       >         )    J  J    ,  '        '  ■>  u      i  '  '     > 

TRANSLATED  BY  WILLIAM  HAZLITT.f 


•  >'     »  *       •  t    •  »•       t 
IN   TWO   VOLtMES. 

VOL.  1. 


NEW  YORK: 
p.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  200  BROADWAY. 

PHILADELPHIA: 
O.  S.  APPLETON,  148  CHESNUT-STREET. 

CINCINNATI :   DERBY,  BRADLEY,  &  COMPANY,  113  MAIN-BTRllT. 

M  DCCC  XtVI. 


)i 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


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The  full  explanation  given  by  M.  Guizot,  in  the  follow- 
ing preface,  of  the  nature  of  this  work,  renders  any 
remark  on  my  part  unnecessary.     I  will  therefore  merely 
state  that  in  translating  it  my  desire  has  been  to  render 
the  author's  meaning  as  nearly  as  possible  in  his  own 
style ;  whether  I  have  succeeded  in  this  object,  it  is  for 
others  to  determine.    As  to  the  books,  documents,  and 
speeches  quoted,  I  have  in  all  cases  gone  back  to  the 
original  sources  consulted  by  the  author,  and  given  the 
ipsissima  verba  of  the  respective  writer  or  speaker.    M. 
Guizot,  in  setting  forth  his  authorities,  refers  to  his  own 
edition  of  the  Memoirs  relative  to  our  Revolution  (a 
most  valuable  publication)  ;  the  references  in  my  trans^ 
lation  are  to  the  best  English  edition  of  each  work 
cited.     The  ample  index  now  given  is  an  entirely  new 
feature,  and  will,  I  trust,  be  accepted  as  an  important 
one. 

M»Bi.B  TEMPZ.K.  William  Hazlitt. 

Dec,  1845. 


25038 


PREFACE 


TO   THE   FIRST  EDITION. 


I  HAVE  published  the  original  memoirs  of  the  English  revo- 
lution; I  now  publish  its  history.     Previous  to  the  French 
revolution,  this  was  thegreatest  event  which  ]Kurop6  h&d  tcr~ 
narrate. 

I  have  no  fear  of  its  importance  being  underrated;  our 
revolution,  in  surpassing,  did  not  make  that  of  England  less 
great  in  itself;  they  were  both  victories  in  the  same  war,  and 
to  the  profit  of  the  same  iwwiee ;  gloi^isT  tEeir  common  Bttri- 
bute ;  they  do  not  eclipse,  but  set  off  each  other.  My  fear  is 
lest  their  true  character  should  be  mistaken.  Test  the  world 
should  not  assign  to  them  that  place  which  is  properly  theirs 
in  the  world's  history. 

According   to  an   opinion  now  widely  adopted,  it  would 
I   seem  as  though  these  two  revolutions  were  unexpected  events, 
I    which,  emanating  from  principles  and  conceived  in  designs 
unheard  of  before,  threw  society  out  of  its  ancient  and  natural 
course ;  hurricanes,  earthquakes — instances,  in  a  word,  of 
i    those  mysterious   phenomena  which   altogether  depart   from 
the  ordinary  laws  of  nature,  and  which  burst  forth  suddenly 
-^blows,  as  it  were,  of  Providence — it  may  be  to  destroy,  i 
may  be  to  renovate.     Friends  and  enemies,  panegyrists  and    v 
detractors,  alike  adopt  this  view.     According  to  the  one  class,  ] 
they   were  glorious  events,  which  brought  to  light,  for  the  ^ 
first  time,  truth,  liberty,  and  justice,  before  the  occurrence  of 
which  all  was  absurdity,  iniquity,  and  tyranny ;  to  which  alone 
the  human  race  owes  its  terrestrial  salvation.     According  to 


>i 


VIU 


PREFACE   TO   THE   FIEST   EDITION. 


PREFACE  TO   THE   FIRST  EDITION, 


IX 


the  other  class,  they  were  deplorable  calamities,  which  inter- 
rupted a  long  golden  age  of  wisdom,  virtue,  and  happiness ; 
whose  perpetrators  proclaimed  maxims,  put  forward  preten- 
sions, and  committed  crimes,  till  then  without  parallel :  the 
nations  in  a  paroxysm  of  madness  dashed  aside  from  their 
accustomed  road  ;  an  abyss  opened  beneath  their  feet. 

Thus,  whether  they  exalt  or  deplore  them,  whether  they 
bless  or  curse  them,  all  parties,  in  considering  revolutions, 
forget  all  the  circumstances,  alike  isolate  them  absolutely  from 
the  past,  alike  make  them  in  themselves  responsible  for  the 
destiny  of  the  world,  and  load  them  with  anathema  or  crown 
them  with  glory. 

It  is  time  to  get  clear  of  all  such  false  and  puerile  declama- 
tion. 

Far  from  having  interrupted  the  natural  course  of  events 
in  Europe,  neither  the  English  revolution  nor  our  own,  ever 
said,  wished,  or  did  anything  that  had  not  been  said,  wished, 
done,  or  attempted,  a  hundred  times  before  they  burst  forth. 
They  proclaimed  the  illegality  of  absolute  power ;  the  free 
consent  of  the  people,  in  reference  to  laws  and  taxes,  and  the 
right  of  armed  resistance,  were  elemental  principles  of  the 
feudal  system]  and  the  church  has  often  repeated  these  words 
of  St.  rsTcr6re,"Which  we  find  in  the  canons  of  the  fourth  coun- 
cil of  Toledo  :  <<  Hp.  is  l^lpy  who  rules  his  people  with  justice  ; 
if  he_  nil- ,nthr-'"'?n,  hfi  sh"^^  "^  inn^nr  hn  Irin^,"  They 
attacked  prerogative^  and  sought  tojntroduce  greater  equality 
into  social  order:  kings  throughout  Europe  have  done  the 
same'f  and,  down  to  our  own  times,  the  various  steps  in  the 
progress  of  civil  equality  have  been  founded  upon  the  laws 
and  measured  by  the  progress  of  royalty.  They  demanded 
that  public  offices  should  be  thrown  open  to  the  citizens  at 
large,  should  be  distributed  according  to  merit  only,  and  that 
power  should  be  conferred  by  election  :  this  is  the  fundamental 


principle  of  the  internal  government  of  the  church,  which- not 
only  acts  upon  it,  but  has  emphatically  proclaimed  its  worth. 
Whether  we  consider  the  general  doctrines  of  the  two  revolu- 
tions, or  the  results  to  which  they  were  applied — whether  we 
regard  the  government  of  the  state,  or  civil  legislation,  pro- 
perty or  persons,  liberty  or  power — nothing  will  be  found  of 
which  the  invention  originated  with  them,  nothing  whiclTis 
not  equally  met  with,  or  which,  at  all  events,  did  not  come 
into  existence  in  periods  which  are  called  regular. 

Nor  is  this  all :  those  principles,  those  designs,  those  efforts 
\    which  are  attributed  exclusively  to  the   English  revolution/ 
i    and  to  our  own,  not  only  preceded  them  by  several  centuries,.' 
\    but  are  precisely  the  same  principles,  the  same  efforts,  to 
.    which  society  in  Europe  owes  all  its  progress.     Was  it  by 
its  disorders  and  its  privileges,    by   its  brute  force,  and  by 
keeping  men  down  beneath  its  yoke,  that  the  feudal  aristo- 
cracy took   part  in   the   development   of  nations  ?     No :  it 
struggled  against  royal  tyranny,  exercised  the  right  of  resist- 
ance, and  maintained  the  maxims  of  liberty.     For  what  have 
nations  blessed  kings  ?     Was  it  for  their  pretensions  to  divine 
right,  to  absolute  power  ?  for  their  profusion  ?  for  their  courts  ? 
No  :  kings  assailed  the  feudal  system  and  asistocratical  privi- 
leges ;  they  introduced  unity  into  legislation,   and  into  the 
executive  administration  ;  they  aided  the  progress  of  equality. 
And  the  clergy — whence  does  it  derive  its  power  ?  how  has 
it  promoted  civilisation  ?     Was  it  by  separating  itself  from  the 
people,  by  taking  fright  at   human   reason,  by   sanctioning 
tyranny  in  the  name  of  Heaven  ?     No  :  it  gathered  together, 
without  distinction,  in  its  churches,  and  under  the  law  of 
Grod,  the  great  and  the  small,  the  poor  and  the  rich,  the  weak 
and  the  strong;  it  honored  and  fostered  science,  instituted 
schools,  favored   the   propagation  of  knowledge,   and   gave 
activity  to  the  mind.    Interrogate  the  history  of  the  masters 


I 


!,* 


PREFACE  TO   THE   FIRST   EDITION. 


( 


of  the  world ;  examine  the  influence  of  the  various  classes 
which  have  decided  its  destiny  ;  wherever  any  good  shall 
manifest  itself,  wherever  the  lasting  gratitude  of  man  shall 
recognize  a  great  service  done  to  humanity,  it  will  be  seen  that 
these  were  steps  towards  the  object  which  were  pursued  by 
the  English  revolution  and  by  our  own ;  we  shall  find  our- 
selves  in  presence  of  one  of  the   principles  they  sought  to 

Let  these  mighty  events,  then,  no  longer  be  held  forth  as 
monstrous  apparitions  in  the  history  of  Europe ;  let  us  hear 
no  more  about  their  unheard-of  pretensions,  their  mfernal 
inventions.  They tidvaneed  -civilisation^  in  -Ihfi^ j^atjiJiL  has 
hem  ^rmmg  ^-^i^&(^-^^^^^^^ '^  ^^^^  professed  the 
maxims,  they  forwarded  the  works  to  which  man  has,  in  all 
time,  owed  the  development  of  his  nature  and  the  ameliora- 
tion  of  his  condition  ;  they  did  that  which  has  been  by  turns 
the  merit  and  the  glory  of  the  clergy,  of  the  aristocracy,  and 

of  kings. 

I  do  not  think  mankind  will  much  longer  persist  in  abso- 
lutely  condemning  them  because  they  are  chargeable  with 
errors,  calamities,  and  primes.  Admit  all  this  to  the  full : 
nay,  exceed' the  sev^eHlfST  the  condemners,  and  closely  ex- 
amine their  accusations  to  supply  their  omissions  ;  then  sum- 
mon  them,  in  their  turn,  to  draw  up  the  list  of  errors,  the 
crimes,  and  the  calamities,  of  those  times  and  those  powers 
which  they  have  taken  under  their  protection  :  I  much  doubt 
whether  they  will  accept  tht  challenge. 

It  may  be  asked  :  in  what  respect,  then,  are  the  two  revolu- 

*   tions  so  distinguishable  from  any  other  epoch,  that  carrymg 

on,  as  they  did,  the  common  work  of  ages,  they  merited  their 

name,  and  changed,  in  effect,  the  face  of  the  world  ?     The 

answer  is  this : 

Various  powers  have  successively  predominated  in  Euro- 


/ 


PREFACE   TO   THE    FIRST   EDITION. 


XI 


pean  society,  and  led  by  turns  the  march  of  civilisation.  After 
the  fall  of  the  Roman  empire  and  the  invasion  of  the  Barba- 
rians, amid  the  dissolution  of  all  ties,  the  ruin  of  all  regular 
power,  dominion  everywhere  fell  into  the  hands  of  bold  brute 
force.  The  conquering"  aristocracy  took  possession  of  all 
things,  persons  and  property,  people  and  land.  In  vain  did  a 
few  great  men,  Charlemagne  in  France,  Alfred  in  England, 
attempt  to  subject  this  chaos  to  the  unity  of  the  monarchical 
system.  All  unity  was  impossible.  The  feudal  hierarchy 
was  the  only  form  that  society  would  accept.  It  pervaded 
everything.  Church  as  well  as  State ;  bishops  and  abbots 
became  barons,  the  king  was  merely  chief  lord.  Yet,  rude 
and  unsettled  as  was  this  organization,  Europe  is  indebted  to 
it  for  its  first  step  out  of  barbarism.  It  was  among  the  pro- 
prietors of  fiefs,  by  their  mutual  relations,  their  laws,  their 
V customs,  their  feelings,  their  ideas,  that  European  civilisation 
began. 

They  weighed  fearfully  upon  the  people.  The  clergy  alone 
sought  to  claim,  on  behalf  of  the  community,  a  little  reason, 
justice,  and  humanity.  He  who  held  no  place  in  the  feudal 
hierarchy,  had  no  other  asylum  than  the  churches,  no  other 
protectors  than  the  priests.  Inadequate  as  it  was,  yet  this 
protection  was  immense,  for  there  was  none  beside.  More- 
over, the  priests  alone  offered  some  food  to  the  moral  nature  of 
man ;  to  that  invincible  craving  after  thought,  knowledge, 
hope,  and  belief,  which  overcomes  all  obstacles  and  survives 
all  misfortune.  The  church  soon  acquired  a  prodigious  power 
in  every  part  of  Europe.  Nascent  royalty  added  to  its 
strength  by  borrowing  its  assistance.  The  preponderance 
passed  from  the  conquering  aristocracy  to  the  clergy. 

By  the  co-operation  of  the  church  and  its  own  inherent 
vigor,  royalty  rose  up  to  a  stature  above  that  of  its  rivals ; 
but  the  clergy  which  had  aided,  now  wished  to  enslave  it.    In 


•'f 


xu 


PREFACE   TO   THE   FIRST   EDITION. 


PREFACE   TO   THE    FIRST   EDITION. 


XIU 


this  new  danger,  royalty  called  to  its  assistance  sometimes  the 
barons,  now  become  less  formidable,  more  frequently  the  com- 
mons, the  people,  already  strong  enough  to  give  good  help,  but 
not  strong  enough  to  demand  a  high  price  for  their  services. 
By  their  aid,  royalty  triumphed  in  its  second  struggle,  and  be- 
came  in  its  turn  the  ruling  power,  invested  with  the  confidence 

of  nations. 

Such  is  the  history  of  ancient  Europe.  The  feudal  aris- 
tocracy, the  clergy,  royalty,  by  turns  possessed  it,  successively 
presided  over  its  destiny  and  its  progress.  It  was  to  their 
co-existence  and  to  their  struggles  that  it  was,  for  a  long 
time,  indebted  for  all  it  achieveTof  liberty,  prosperity,  en- 
lightenment ;  in  a  word,  for  the  development  of  its  civilisa- 
tion. 

In  the  seventeenth  century  in  England,  in  the  eighteenth  in 
^-^J'rance,  all  struggle  between  these  three  powers  had  ceased  ; 
/    they  lived  together  in  sluggish  peace.     It  may  even  be  said, 
/       that  they  had  lost  their  historical  character,  and  even  the 
I       remembrance  of  those  efforts,  which,  of  old,  constituted  their 
I       power  and  their  splendor.     The   aristocracy  no  longer  pro- 
^      tected  public  liberty,  nor  even  its  own  ;  jroyalty ,  no  longer 
\     labored  to  abolish  aristocratical  privilege  ;  it  seemed,  on  the 
\    contrary,  to  have  become  favorable  to  its  possessors,  in  re- 
1    turn  for  their  servility.    The  clergy,  a  soiritual  power,  feared 
Vthe  human  mind,  and  no  longer  able  to  guide,  called  upon  it 
with  threats,  to  check  its  career.    Still  civilisation  followed  its 
course,  daily  more  general  and  more  active.     Forsaken  by  its 
ancient  leaders,  astonished  at  their  apathy  and  at  the  humor 
they  displayed,  and  at  seeing  that  less  was  done  for  it  as  its 
power  and  its  desires  grew  larger,  the  people  began  to  think  it 
had  better  take  to  transact  its  own  affairs  itself;  and,  assum- 
ing in  its  own  person  all  the  functions  which  its  former  leaders 
no  longer  fulfilled,  claimed  at  once  of  the  crown  liberty,  of  the 


aristocracy  equality,  of  the  clergy  the  rights  of  human  intel- 
ect.     Then  burst  forth  revolutions. 

These  did,  for  the  benefit  of  a  new  power,  what-Europe  had 
in  other  cases  already  several  times  witnessed  ;  they  gave  to 
society  leaders  who  would  and  could  direct  it  in  its  progress. 
By  this  title  alone  had  the  aristocracy,  the  church,  and  royalty 
by  turns  enjoyed  the  preponderance.  The  people  now  took 
possession  of  it  by  the  same  means,  in  the  name  of  the  same 
necessities. 

Such  was  the  true  operation,  the  real  characteristic  of  the 
English  revolution  as  well  as  of  our  own.  After  having  con- 
y  sidered  them  as  absolutely  alike,  it  has  been  said  that  they 
had  nothing  but  appearances  in  common.  The  first,  it  has 
been  contended,  was  political  rather  then  social ;  the  second 
sought  to  change  at  once  both  society  and  government ;  the 
one  sought  liberty,  the  other  equality  ;  the  one,  still  more  re- 
ligious than  political,  only  substituted  dogma  for  dogma,  a 
church  for  a  church  ;  the  other,  philosophical  more  especially, 
claimed  the  full  independence  of  reason  :  an  ingenious  compa- 
rison, and  not  without  its  truth,  but  well  nigh  as  superficial,  as 
frivolous  as  the  opinion  it  pretends  to  correct.  While,  under 
the  external  resemblance  of  the  two  revolutions,  great  differ- 
ences are  perceptible,  so,  beneath  their  differences,  is  hidden  a 
resemblance  still  more  profound.  The  English  revolution,  it 
is  true,  from  the  same  causes  that  brought  it  forth  an  age  be- 
fore ours,  retained  a  more  decided  impress  of  the  ancient  social 
state  :  there,  free  institutions,  which  had  their  origin  in  the 
very  depth  of  barbarism,  had  survived  the  despotism  they 
could  not  prevent ;  the  feudal  aristocracy,  or  at  least  a  portion 
of  it,  had  united  its  cause  to  that  of  the  people ;  royalty,  even 
in  the  days  of  its  supremacy,  had  never  been  fully  or  undis- 
turbedly  absolute  ;  the  national  church  had  itself  begun  reli- 
gious reform,  and  called  forth  the  daring  inquiries  of  mind* 

2 


.■a 


i 


V,lv 


xiv 


PREFACE   TO   THE   FIRST  EDITION. 


PftEFACE   TO  THE   FIRST  EDITION. 


XV 


Everywhere,  in  the  laws,  the  creed,  the  manners  of  the  people, 
revolution  found  its  work  half  accomplished ;  and  from  that 
order  of  things  which  it  sought  to  change,  came  at  once  assist- 
ance and  obstacles,  useful  allies  and  still  powerful  adversaries. 
It  thus  presented  a  singular  mixture  of  elements,  to  all  appear- 
ance the  most  contrary,  at  once  aristocratic  and  popular, 
religious  and  philosophical,  appealing  alternately  to  laws  and 
theories ;  now  proclaiming  a  new  yoke  for  conscience,  now  its 
entire  liberty  ;  sometimes  narrowly  confined  within  the  limits 
of  facts,  at  others  soaring  to  the  most  daring  attempts ;  placed, 
in  short,  between  the  old  and  new  social  state,  rather  as  a 
bridge  over  which  to  pass  from  the  one  to  the  other,  than  as  an 
abyss  of  separation. 

The  most  terrible  unity,  on  the  contrary,  pervaded  the 
French  revolution  ;  the  new  spirit  alone  dominated  ;  and  the 
old  system,  far  from  taking  its  part  and  its  place  in  the  move- 
ment, only  sought  to  defend  itself  against  it,  and  only  defended 
itself  for  a  moment ;  it  was  alike  without  power  as  without 
virtue.  On  the  day  of  the  explosion,  one  fact  only  remained 
real  and  powerful,  the  general  civilisation  of  the  country.  In 
this  great  but  sole  result,  old  institutions,  old  manners,  creeds, 
the  memory  of  the  past,  the  whole  national  life,  had  fused 
themselves  and  become  lost.  So  many  active  and  glorious 
ages  had  produced  only  France.  Hence  the  immense  results 
of  the  revolution,  and  also  its  immense  errors ;  it  possessed  ab- 
solute power. 

Assuredly  there  is  a  great  difference,  and  one  worthy  to  be 
well  borne  in  mind ;  it  strikes  us  more  especially  when  we 
regard  the  two  revolutions  in  themselves  as  isolated  events, 
detached  from  general  history,  and  seek  to  unravel,  if  I  may 
so  express  it,  their  peculiar  physiognomy,  their  individual 
character.  But  let  them  resume  th^^ir  p^^e  in  the  course  of 
Ages,  and  then  inquire  what  they  have  done  towards  the  de- 


velopment of  European  civilisation,  and  the  resemblance  will 
reappear,  will  rise  above  all  minor  differences.  Produced  by 
the  same  causes,  the  decay  of  the  feudal  aristocracy,  the 
church,  and  royalty,  they  both  labored  at  the  same  work,  the 
dominion  of  the  public  in  public  affairs ;  they  struggled  for 
liberty  against  absolute  power,  for  equality  against  privilege, 
for  progressive  and  general  interests  against  stationary  and 
individual  interests.  Their  situations  were  different,  their 
strength  unequal ;  what  the  one  clearly  conceived,  the  other 
saw  but  in  imperfect  outline  ;  in  the  career  which  the  one  ful- 
filled, the  other  soon  stopped  short ;  on  the  same  battle-field, 
the  one  found  victory,  the  other  defeat ;  the  sin  of  the  one  was 
contempt  of  all  religious  principle,  of  the  other  hypocrisy ; 
one  was  wiser,  the  other  more  powerful ;  but  their  means  and 
their  success  alone  differed ;  their  tendency,  as  well  as  their 
origin,  was  the  same  ;  their  wishes,  their  efforts,  their  progress,  j 
were  directed  towards  the  same  end  ;  what  the  one  attempted  < 
or  accomplished,  the  other  accomplished  or  attempted.  Though 
guilty  of  religious  persecution,  the  English  revolution  saw  the 
banner  of  religious  liberty  uplifted  in  its  ranks ;  notwithstand- 
ing its  aristocratic  alliances,  it  founded  the  preponderance  of 
the  commons ;  though  especially  intent  upon  civil  order,  it 
still  called  for  more  simple  legislation,  for  parliamentary  re- 
form, the  abolition  of  entails,  and  of  primogenitureship  ;  and 
though  disappointed  in  premature  hopes,  it  enabled  English 
society  to  take  a  great  stride  out  of  the  monstrous  inequality 
of  the  feudal  system.  In  a  word,  the  analogy  of  the  two  revo- 
lutions is  such,  that  the  first  would  never  have  been  thoroughly 
understood  had  not  the  second  taken  place. 

In  our  days,  the  history  of  the   English   revolution   has 
changed  its  face.     Hume*  for  a  long  series  of  years  enjoyed 

•  The  first  volume  of  Hume's  History  of  the  House  of  Stuart  ap- 
peared in  England  in  1754,  and  the  second  in  1756. 


I 


xvi 


PREFACE   TO   THE   FIRST   EDITION. 


the  privilege  of  forming,  in  accordance  with  his  views,  the 
opinion  of  Europe ;  and,  notwithstanding  the  aid  of  Mirabeau,* 
Mrs.  Macauley's  declamations  had  not  been  able  to  shake  his 
authority.  All  at  once,  men's  minds  have  recovered  their 
natural  independence  ;  a  crowd  of  works  have  attested,  not 
only  that  this  epoch  has  become  once  more  the  object  of  lively 
sympathy,  but  that  the  narrative  and  opinions  of  Hume  have 
ceased  to  satisfy  the  imagination  and  reason  of  the  public.  A 
great  orator,  Mr.  Fox,f  distinguished  writers,  Mr  Malcolm 
Laing,:|:Macdiarmid,§  Brodie,||  Lingard,ir  Grodwin,**  (fee,  hast- 
ened to  meet  this  new-roused  curiosity.  Bom  in  France,  the 
movement  could  not  fail  to  make  its  way  there ;  UHistoire  de 
Cromwell  by  M.  Villemain,  UHistoire  de  la  Revolution  de 
1688,  by  M.  Mazure,  evidently  prove,  that  neither  for  us  was 
Hume  sufficIentT^and  I  have  been  able  myself,  to  publish  the 
voluminous  collection  of  the  original  memoirs  of  that  epoch, 

•  Mrs.  Macauley*s  work  was  to  have  been  a  **  History  of  England 
from  the  Accession  of  James  the  First  to  the  Elevation  of  the  House 
of  Hanover,*'  but  it  reaches  no  further  than  the  fall  of  James  the  Se- 
cond. It  was  published  in  England  from  1763  to  1783.  Of  the  French 
translation,  sent  forth  in  1791,  under  the  name  of  Mirabeau,  only  two 
volumes  appeared. 

t  History  of  the  Two  Last  Kings  of  the  House  of  Stuart,  4to.,  Lon- 
don, 180S. 

X  History  of  Scotland  from  the  Union  of  the  Crowns  to  the  Union 
of  the  Kingdom,  4  vols.,  Svo.     First  published,  1800. 

§  Lives  of  British  Statesmen,  2  vols.  Svo,  second  edition,  London, 
1820.  The  second  volume  contains  the  Lives  of  Strafford  and  Claren- 
don. 

fl  History  of  the  British  Empire,  from  the  Accession  of  Charles  the 
First  to  the  Restoration  of  Charles  the  Second,  4  vols.  8vo.,  Edinburgh, 
1822. 

H  History  of  England ;  the  9th  and  10th  volumes  (London,  1825, 
Svo.)  contain  the  reigns  of  James  I.,  and  Charles  I. 

**  History  of  tlie  Commonwealthof  England ;  London,  1824 ;  4  vols., 
Svo. 


PREFACE   TO  THE    FIRST   EDITION. 


XVII 


without  wearying  the  attention  or  exhausting  the  curiosity  of 
readers.* 

It  would  little  become  me  to  enter  here  into  a  detailed  ex- 
amination of  these  works ;  but  I  do  not  hesitate  to  assert  that, 
without  the  French  revolution,  without  the  vivid  light  it  threw 
on  the  struggle  between  the  Stuarts  and  the  English  people, 
they  would  not  possess  the  new  merits  which  distinguish 
them.  I  need  only  as  a  proof,  the  difference  that  is  to  be  re- 
marked between  those  produced  by  Great  Britain,  and  those 
which  France  gave  birth  to.  How  great  soever  the  patriotic 
interest  inspired  in  the  mind  of  the  former,  by  the  revolution 
of  1640,  even  when  they  place  themselves  under  the  banner 
of  one  of  the  parties  which  it  educed,  historical  criticism 
reigns  throughout  their  works ;  they  apply  themselves  more 
especially  to  exact  research,  to  the  comparison  and  cross- 
questioning  of  witnesses ;  what  they  relate,  is  to  them  an  old 
story  they  thoroughly  know,  not  a  drama  at  which  they  are 
present ;  a  period  long  past,  which  they  pride  themselves  on 
being  well  acquainted  with,  but  in  whose  bosom  they  live  not. 
Mn  Brodie  fully  participates  in  all  the  prejudices,  distrust, 
and  anger  of  the  bitterest  puritans  against  Charles  and  the 
cavaliers  ;  while,  to  the  faults  and  crimes  of  his  party,  he  is 
wholly  blind.  But,  at  least,  one  would  imagine  so  much 
passion  would  produce  an  animated  narrative  ;  that  the  party 
exciting  so  much  sympathy  in  the  mind  of  the  writer,  would 
be  described  with  truth  and  power.  Not  so :  despite  the  ar. 
dor  of  his  predilections,  Mr.  Brodie  studies,  but  sees  not, 
discusses,  but  describes  not ;  he  admires  the  popular  party, 
but  does  not  produce  it  strikingly  on  the  stage  ;  his  work  is  a 
learned  and  useful  dissertation,  not  a  moral  and  animated  his- 
tory.    Mr.  Lingard  shares  in  none  of  the  opinions,  none  of 

•  This  Collection,  now  completed,  forms  25    vols.  Svo.     Paris. 

Didier. 

2*        . 


% 


XVlll 


PREFACE   TO   THE   FIRST   EDITION. 


the  affections  of  Mr.  Brodie ;  he  remains  impartial  between 
the  king  and  the  parliament ;  he  pleads  the  cause  of  neither, 
and  makes  no  attempt  to  refute  the  errors  of  his  predecessors ; 
he  even  boasts  of  not  having  opened  the  work  of  Hume  since 
he  undertook  his  own  ;  he  wrote,  he  says,  with  the  aid  of 
original  documents  alone,  with  the  times  he  wished  to  describe 
ever  before  his  eyes,  and  with  the  firm  resolution  of  shunning 
all  systematic  theory.  Does  he  restore  life  to  history  by  this 
impartiality  ?  Not  at  all :  Mr.  Lingard's  impartiality  is,  in 
this  case,  sheer  indifference ;  a  Roman-catholic  priest,  it 
matters  little  to  him  whether  Church  of  England  men  or 
presbyterians  triumph ;  thus,  indifference  has  helped  him  no 
better  than  passion  did  Mr.  Brodie  to  penetrate  beyond  the 
external,  and,  so  to  speak,  the  material  form  of  events  ;  with 
him,  too,  the  principal  merit  is  in  having  carefully  examined 
facts,  and  collected  and  disposed  them  in  commendable  order. 
Mr.  Malcolm  Laing  had  discerned  with  more  sagacity  the 
political  character  of  the  revolution ;  he  shows  very  well  that 
from  the  first,  without  distinctly  apprehending  its  own  aim, 
it  sought  to  displace  power,  to  transfer  it  to  the  house  of 
commons,  and  thus  to  substitute  parliamentary  for  royal  go- 
vernment, and  that  it  could  only  rest  on  this  basis.  But  the 
moral  side  of  the  epoch,  the  religious  enthusiasm,  the  popular 
passions,  the  party  intrigues,  the  personal  rivalries,  all  those 
scenes  in  which  human  nature  displays  itself,  when  freed 
from  the  restraint  of  old  habits  and  laws,  are  wanting  in  his 
book  ;  it  is  the  report  of  a  clear-sighted  judge,  but  of  one  who 
has  only  resorted  to  written  documents,  and  has  called  before 
him  in  person  neither  actors  nor  witnesses.  I  might  pass-  in 
review  all  the  works  with  which  England  has  been  recently 
enriched  on  this  subject ;  they  would  all,  on  examination,  be 
£)und  to  present  the  same  character — a  marked  revival  of  in- 
terest in  this  great  crisis  of  the  national  life,  a  more  attentive 


PREFACE  TO  THE   FIRST  EDITION. 


XIZ 


f. 


Study  of  the  facts  that  relate  to  it,  a  keener  feeling  of  its 
merits,  a  juster  appreciation  of  its  causes  and  consequences ; 
still  it  is  but  meditation  and  learning  applied  to  the  production 
of  works  of  erudition  or  philosophy.  I  seek  in  vain  for  that 
natural  sympathy  in  the  writer  for  his  subject  that  gives  to 
history  light  and  life  ;  and  if  Hampden  or  Clarendon  were  to 
return  to  life,  I  can  scarcely  believe  they  would  recognize 
their  own  times. 

I  open  the  Histoire  de  Cromwell  by  M.  ViUemaina.  and  find 
altogether  another  scene  before  me.  It  is  less  complete,  less 
learned,  less  exact  than  several  of  the  works  I  have  adverted 
to ;  but,  throughout,  there  is  a  quick  and  keen  comprehension 
of  the  opinions,  the  passions,  the  vicissitudes  of  revolutions, 
of  public  tendencies,  and  individual  character,  of  the  uncon- 
querable nature  and  the  so  changing  forms  of  parties ;  the 
historian's  reason  teaches  him  how  to  appreciate  all  situations, 
all  ideas  ;  his  imagination  is  moved  by  all  real  and  deep  im- 
pressions ;  his  impartiality,  somewhat  too  sceptical  if  any- 
thing, is  yet  more  animated  than  is  frequently  even  the  passion 
of  the  exclusive  advocates  of  a  cause  ;  and  though  the  revo- 
lution only  appears  in  his  book  confined  within  the  too  narrow 
frame  of  a  biography,  it  is  clearer  and  more  animated  than  I 
have  met  with  it  elsewhere. 

The  reason  of  this  is,  that,  setting  aside  the  advantages  of 
talent,  M.  Villemain  had  those  of  situation.  He  has  viewed 
and  judged  the  English  revolution  from  the  midst  of  that  of 
France ;  he  found  in  the  men  and  the  events  developing 
themselves  beneath  his  own  eyes,  the  key  to  those  he  had  to 
paint ;  he  drew  life  from  his  own  times  and  infused  it  into  the 
times  he  wished  to  recal. 

I  have  no  desire  to  carry  these  reflections  further ;  I  have 
ventured  so  much  only  to  point  out  how  great  is  the  analogy 
between  the  two  epochs,  and  also  to  explain  how  a  French- 


/ 


•?^' 


XX 


PREFACE   TO   THE   FIRST   EDITION. 


( 


man  may  believe  that  the  history  of  the  English  revolution 
has  not  yet  been  written  in  a  fully  satisfactory  manner,  and 
that  he  may  be  allowed  to  attempt  it.  I  have  carefully 
^  studied  nearly  all  the  old  and  modern  works  of  which  it  has 
\  formed  the  subject ;  I  did  not  fear  that  this  study  would 
^weaken  the  sincerity  of  my  own  impressions  or  the  indepen- 
dence of  my  judgment ;  it  seems  to  me  there  is  too  much 
timidity  in  dreading  so  readily  lest  an  auxiliary  should  be- 
come a  master  ;  too  much  pride  in  refusing  so  absolutely  all 
aid.  Yet,  and  if  I  do  not  deceive  myself  it  will  easily  be  re- 
cognized, original  documents  have  more  peculiarly  been  my 
guides.  I  have  nothing  to  observe  here,  as  to  the  "  Memoirs  ;'* 
I  endeavored  in  the  "  Notices "  I  prefixed  to  my  edition 
of  them,  clearly  to  explain  their  character  and  worth ; 
Those  which  did  not  find  a  place  in  my  "  Collection,"  though 
I  have  made  use  of  them  in  my  "  History,"  appear  to  me  of 
too  little  importance  to  require  remark.  As  for  the  collections 
of  official  acts  and  documents,  they  are  very  numerous ;  and, 
though  often  explored,  still  abound  in  unworked  treasures. 
I  have  had  constantly  before  me  those  of  Rushworth,  Thurloe, 
the  journals  of  both  houses  of  parliament,  the  "  Parliamentary 
History,"  the  old  one  as  well  as  that  of  Mr.  Cobbett,  the 
"  Collection  of  State  Trials,"  and  a  great  number  of  other 
works  of  the  same  kind,  which  it  would  be  uninteresting  to 
enumerate.  I  also  found  in  the  pamphlets  of  the  time,  not 
only  English,  but  French,  some  curious  information  ;  for  the 
French  public  was  more  occupied  than  is  imagined  with  the 
English  revolution  ;  many  pamphlets  were  published  in 
France  for  and  against  it,  and  the  Frondeurs  more  than  once 
put  forward  its  example,  against  Mazarin  and  the  court.  I 
must  also  say,  to  do  justice  to  a  man  and  a  work  now  too 
much  neglected,  that  I  have  often  consulted  with  profit  the 
History  of  England,  by  Rapin  de  Thoyras ;    and  that,  not- 


V 


PREFACE    TO    THE    FIRST    EDITION. 


XXl 


withstanding  the  inferiority  of  the  writer's  talents,  the 
English  revolution  is  perhaps  better  understood  in  it,  and 
more  completely  displayed  than  in  the  works  of  most  of  its 
successors. 

In  conclusion,  let  me  be  allowed  to  express  here  my  gra- 
titude to  all  those  persons  who,  in  France  and  in  England, 
have  been  good  enough  to  sanction  my  work  in  its  progress, 
and  to  promote  it  by  the  most  valuable  assistance.  Amongst 
others,  I  owe  to  the  kindness  of  Sir  James  Mackintosh,  as 
inexhaustible  as  his  mind  and  knowledge,  suggestions  and 
advice  which  no  one  but  himself  could  have  given  me ;  and 
one  of  those,  who,  amongst  ourselves,  are  the  most  versed  in 
the  past  history  as  well  as  in  the  present  state  of  England, 
M.  Gallois,  has  thrown  open  to  me,  with  a  kindness  I  have 
some  right  to  consider  friendship,  the  treasures  of  his  library 
and  his  conversation. 

F.  G. 

Paris,  April,  1826. 


ADVERTISEMENT 


TO  THE    EDITION    OF   1841 


The  History  of  the  Revolution  of  England  comprises  three 
grand  periods.  In  the  first,  under  Charles  I.  (1625 — 1649), 
the  Revolution  was  preparing,  was  put  forth,  and  took  its 
stand.  In  the  second,  under  the  Long  Parliament  and  Crom- 
well (1649—1660),  it  essayed  to  found  its  own  form  of  govern-  . 
ment,  which  it  called  a  Republic,  and  fell  in  the  attempt. 
The  third  period  is  that  of  monarchical  re-action,  successful 
for  a  while,  under  Charles  II.,  who,  in  his  cautious  selfishness, 
aimed  at  nothing  beyond  his  own  personal  enjoyment,  but 
ruined  by  the  blind  passion  of  James  II.,  who  aimed  at  abso- 
lute  power.  In  1688,  England  achieved  the  point  she  aimed 
at  in  1640,  and  quitted  the  career  of  revolution  for  that  of 

liberty. 

I  publish,  without  alteration,  a  new  edition  of  my  History 
of  the  first  period.  I  have  collected,  for  that  of  the  two  other 
periods,  a  body  of  materials  which,  as  I  believe,  are  neither 
without'  importance  or  variety.  A  day  will  doubtless  come, 
when  I  shall  be  able  to  make  use  of  these  materials  :  mean- 
time, wanting  the  leisure  to  complete  my  narrative  of  this 
stupendous  event,  I  apply  my  mind  at  every  available  moment, 

to  its  just  comprehension. 

F.  G. 

Paris,  January,  1841. 


M 


%^ 


I 


HISTORY  N  \ORK. 


OF 


.r*--» 


THE  ENGLISH  REVOLUTION, 


FROM   THE 


ACCESSION    OF   CHARLES    I.    TO    HIS    DEATH. 


BOOK  THE  FIRST 
1625—1629. 

Accession  of  Charles  the  First  to  the  throne— State  and  disposition  of 
England— Meeting  of  the  first  parliament— Spirit  of  liberty  mani- 
fested therein— Its  dissolution— First  attempts  at  arbitrary  govern- 
ment— Their  bad  success — Second  parliament — Impeachment  of  the 
Duke  of  Buckingham— Dissolution  of  parliament— 111  administration 
of  Buckingham— Third  parliament— Petition  of  rights— Prorogation 
of  parliament— Murder  of  Buckingham— Second  session  of  the  third 
parliament— Fresh  causes  of  public  discontent— The  king's  dis- 
pleasure— Dissolution  of  the  third  parliament. 

On  the  27th  of  March,  1625,  Charles  the  First  ascended  the 
throne,  and  immediately  afterwards  (2d  April)  convoked  a 
parliament.  Scarcely  was  the  house  of  commons  assembled 
(18th  June),  when  a  worthy  man,  who  had  been  reckoned  in 
the  last  reign  among  the  opponents  of  the  court.  Sir  Benjamin 
Rudyard,  rose  (22d  June)  and  moved  that  henceforth  nothing 
should  be  neglected  to  maintain  a  perfect  harmony  between 
the  king  and  the  people :  "  For,"  said  he,  "  what  may  we 
expect  from  him,  being  king ;  his  good  natural  disposition, 
his  freedom  from  vice,  his  travels  abroad,  his  being  bred  in 
parliament,  promise  greatly."* 

All  England,  indeed,  gave  way  to  joy  and  hope.  And  it 
was  not  merely  those  vague  hopes,  those  tumultuous  rejoic- 
ings,  which  a  new  reign,  as  a  matter  of  course,  gives  rise  to; 

♦  Pari.  Hist.,  vol.  ii.,  col.  5. 
3 


26 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


27 


It 


they  were  serious,  general,  and  seemingly  well  founded. 
Charles  was  a  prince  of  grave  and  pure  conduct,  of  acknow- 
ledged piety,  diligent,  learned,  frugal,  little  inclined  to  prodi- 
"ality,  reserved  without  moroseness,  dignified  without  arro. 
gance  He  maintained  decorum  and  order  in  his  household  ; 
everything  about  him  announced  a  noble,  upright  character, 
the  friend°of  justice ;  his  manners  and  deportment  awed  his 
courtiers,  and  pleased  the  people  ;  his  virtues  had  gained  him 
the  esteem  of  all  good  men.  Weary  of  the  mean  ways,  the 
talkative  and  familiar  pedantry,  the  inert  and  pusillanimous 
policy  of  James,  England  promised  herself  happiness  and 
•   liberty  under  a  king  whom  she  could  respect. 

Charles  and  the  English  nation  did  not  know  to  what  a 

degree  they  were  already  antagonistic  one  to  the  other,  nor 

the  causes  which,  long  since  at  work,  and  growing  each  day 

more  powerful,  would  soon  prevent  the  possibility  ot   their 

understanding  and  agreeing  with  each  other. 

I —     Two  revolutions,  the  one  visible  and  even  glaring,  the  other 

1      internal,  unperceived,   but  not  the  less  certain,  were  being 

\     accomplished  at  this  epoch  ;  the  first,  in  the  kingly  power  ot 

U  Europe  ;  the  second,  in  the  social  state  and  manners  ot  the 

English  people.  .  i      r     j 

It  was  just  at  this  time,  that,  on  the  continent,  royalty,  treed 
I  from  its  ancient  trammels,  was  becoming  everywhere  well 
.  '  nigh  absolute.  In  France,  in  Spain,  in  most  of  the  states  of 
the  German  empire,  it  had  quelled  the  feudal  aristocracy,  and 
was  ceasing  to  protect  the  liberty  of  the  commons,  having  no 
loncrer  need  of  them  to  oppose  to  other  enemies.  The  higher 
nobility,  as  if  it  had  lost  even  the  feeling  of  its  defeat,  crowded 
around  the  throne,  almost  proud  of  the  brilliant  display  of  its 
conquerors.  The  burghers,  dispersed,  and  of  a  timid  nature, 
rejoicing  in  the  order  now  beginning  to  prevail,  productive  of 
a  happiness  till  then  unknown  to  them,  labored  to  enrich  and 
enlighten  themselves,  without  aspiring  as  yet  to  any  place  in 
the  government  of  the  state.  Everywhere,  the  pomp  of  courts, 
the  dispatch  of  administrative  business,  the  extent  and  regu- 
larity  of  wars,  proclaimed  the  preponderance  of  royal  power. 
The  maxims  of  divine  right  and  passive  obedience  prevailed, 
feebly  contested  even  where  not  recognized.  In  a  word,  the 
progress  of  civilisation,  of  letters,  and  arts,  of  internal  peace 
and  prosperity,  embellishing  this  triumph  of  pure  monarchy, 


inspired  princes  with  a  presumptuous  confidence,  and  people 
with  admiring  compliance. 

^  Royalty  in  England  had  not  remained  an  exception  to  this 
European  movement.     From  the  accession  of  the  house  of 
Tudor,  in  1485,  it  had  ceased  to  have  as  adversaries  those 
proud  barons,  who,  too  weak  to  struggle  individually  against 
^  their  king,  had  formerly,  by  coalescing  together,  been  able 
now  to  maintain  their  own  rights,  at  other  times  to  associate 
themselves,  by  main  force,  in  the  exercise  of  royal  power. 
Broken  up,  iinpoverished,  reduced  by  its  own  excesses,  above 
all  by  the  wars  of  the  two  Roses,  this  aristocracy,  so  long 
unmanageable,  yielded,  almost  without  resistance,  first  to  the 
haughty  tyranny  of  Henry  VIII.,  and  afterwards  to  the  skilful 
-policy  of  Elizabeth.     Become  the  head  of  the  church,  and  the 
possessor  of  immense  estates,  Henry,  by  distributing  these, 
with  lavish  hand  among  families  whose  greatness  he  himself  i 
thus  created,  or  whose  fallen  fortunes  he  thus  restored,  began ' 
the  metamorphosis  of  barons  into  courtiers.     Under  Elizabeth 
this  metamorphosis  was  completed.     A  woman  and  a  queen,  a 
brilliant  court  at  once   gratified  her  taste  and  her  sense  of 
power,   and . augmented  that  power;    the  nobility  thronged 
thither  with  delight,  and  without  too  much  exciting  public 
discontent.     It  was  a  rare  temptation  thus  to  devote  them- 
selves to  a  popular  sovereign,  and  to  seek  by  intrigues,  and 
amid  constant  festivities,  the  favor  of  a  queen  who  enjoyed 
that  of  the  country. 

The  maxims,  the  forms,  and  the  language,  often  even  the 
practices  of  pure  monarchy,  were  forgiven  in  a  government 
useful  and  glorious  to  the  nation ;  the  affection  of  the  people 
kept  full  pace  with  the  servility  of  the  courtiers  ;  and  towards 
a  woman,  all  whose  perils  were  public  perils,  unbounded 
devotion  seemed  a  law  to  the  gentleman,  a  duty  to  the  pro- 
tcstant  and  citizen. 

The  Stuarts  could  not  fail  to  advance  in  the  path  which, 
since  the  accession  of  the  Tudors,  English  royalty  had  entered 
upon.  A  Scotchman,  and  of  the  blood  of  Guise,  James  I.,  by 
his  family  reminiscences  and  the  habits  of  his  country,  was 
attached  to  France,  and  accustomed  to  seek  his  allies  and  his 
models  on  the  continent,  where,  ordinarily,  an  English  prince 
only  saw  enemies  :  ajccordingly,  he  soon  showed  himself  still 
more  profoundly  imbued  than  Elizabeth  and  even  than  Henry 


II 


28 


HISTORY    OF   7hE 


VIII.  himself,  with  the  maxims  which,  at  that  time,  were  m 
Europe  the  basis  of  pure  monarchy  ;  he  professed  them  with 
the  pride  of  a  theologian  and  the  complacency  of  a  king,  pro- 
testing on  every  occasion,  by  the  pomp  of  his  declarations, 
against  the  timidity  of  his  acts  and  the  limits  of  his  power. 
Compelled,  sometimes,  to  defend,  by  more  direct  and  simpler 
arguments,  the  measures  of  his  government,  arbitrary  impri- 

,  sonments  or  illegal  taxes,  James  at  such  times  alleged  the 
example  of  the  king  of  France  or  of  Spain.     "  Tli_e  kin^_ot_ 

TTn^d,"  said  his  ministers  to  the  house  of  commons,  "must^ 
n'Stbeworse  binhaiihis  equals."  And  such,  even  in  Englan^ 
was  the  influence  of  the  revolution  lately  accomplished  in 
continental  monarchy,  that  the  adversaries  of  the  court  were 
embarrassed  by  this  language,  almost  convinced  themselves  that 
the  inherent  dignity  of  princes  required  that  all  should  enjoy 
the  same  rights,  and  at  a  loss  how  to  reconcile  this  necessary 
equality  among  kings  with  the  liberties  of  their  country. 

Nurtured  from  his  infancy  in  these  pretensions  and  these 
maxims,  prince  Charles,  upon  arriving  at  manhood,  was  stih 
nearer  exposed  to  their  contagion.  The  infanta  of  Spam  was 
promised  to  him  :  the  duke  of  Buckingham  suggested  to  him 
the  idea  of  going  secretly  to  Madrid  to  sue  in  person  for  her 
heart  and  hand.  So  romantic  a  design  pleased  the  young 
man's  imagination.  The  next  thing  was  to  obtain  the  king  a 
consent.  James  refused,  flew  into  a  passion,  wept,  and  a\ 
last  yielded  to  his  favorite  rather  than  to  his  son.f  Charles 
was  received  at  Madrid  with  great  honors  (March,  1623), 
and  there  saw,  in  all  its  splendor,  monarchy  majestic,  supreme, 
receivin<T  from  its  immediate  servants  a  devotion,  and  from 
the  people  a  respect,  almost  religious ;  rarely  contradicted, 
and  even  then  always  sure  of  ultimately  getting  the  better  of 
all  opposition,  by  its  mere  will.  The  match  with  the  infanta 
was  broken  off*;  so  Charles  married,  instead  of  her,  Henrietta- 
Maria,  princess  of  France  ;t  for  his  father  had  made  up  his 
mind,  that  beyond  those  two  courts  there  was  no  alliance 
suitable  to  the  dignity  of  his  throne.  The  influence  of  this 
union  on  the  English  prince  was  precisely  the  same  which  he 

•  Journals  of  the  Commons,  1614. 
t  Clarendon's  History  of  the  Rebellion  (1798),  i.,  18. 
X  The  marriage  negotiated  in  1624  was  not  definitively  concluded 
till  May,  1625  ;  it  took  place  in  England  the  next  month. 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


29 


had  felt  in  Spain  ;  and  the  monarchy  of  Paris  or  Madrid 
became  in  his  eyes  the  very  image  of  the  natural  and  legiti- 
mate condition  of  a  king. 

Ttjiis  English  rnonarchy^  at  least  in  thejiionarchj  his  coun- 
selTors,  and  his  court,  followed  tlie  same  direction  as  the  mo*. 


narchies  of  the  continent.  Here,  also,  everything  manifested 
the  symptoms  and  eflfects  of  the  revolution  already  accom- 
plished elsewhere,  and  which,  in  its  most  moderate  pretensions, 
only  allowed  the  liberties  of  subjects  to  exist  as  subordinate 
rights,  as  concessions  by  the  sovereign's  generosity.  

But  while  on  the  continent  this  revolution  found  the  people     , 
as  yet  incapable  of  resisting  it,   perhaps  even  disposed  to     \ 
receive  it,  in  England  a  counter-revolution,  secretly  at  work     ; 
in  society,  had   already  mined   away  the  ground   under  the      \ 
feet  of  pure  monarchy,  and  prepared  its  ruin  amid  its  fancied 
progress. 

When,  on  the  accession  of  the  Tudors,  the  high  aristocracy 
bowed   and   humbled   itself  before  the  throne,    the    English 
commons  were  not  in  a  position  to  take  its  place  irTthe  strug- 
gle of  liberty  against  power ;  they  would  not  even  have  dared 
tojaspire  to  the  honor  of  the  contest.     In  the  fourteenth  cen-''^'^-^''*"' 
tury,  at  the  time  of  their  most  rapid  progress,  their  ambition  ^^j  -.*  ?-  >^ 
was  limited  to  the  obtaining  a  recognition  of  their  most  simple       '^■'^ 
and  primitive  rights,  to  the  achieving  a  few  incomplete  and 
precarious  guarantees.     Never  had  their  fancy  soared  so  high 
as  to  give  them  the  notion  that  they  had  any  right,  that  they 
were  called  upon  to  take  a  share  in  the  sovereignty,  to  par-  '*^^^«^ 
ticipate  in  a  permanent  and  positive  manner  in  the  govern-    ;^  .  , 
ment  of  the  country ;  the  barons  alone,  they  thought,  were 
fitted  for  so  high  a  purpose. 

In  the  sixteenth  century,  harassed  and  ruined,  like  the 
barons,  by  the  civil  wars,  the  commons  needed  above  all 
things  order  and  repose  ;  this  royalty  gave  them,  imperfectly 
indeed,  but  still  more  secure  and  better  regulated  than  they 
had  ever  known  it  before.  They  accepted  the  benefit  with 
earnest  gratitude.  Separated  from  their  ancient  leaders, 
standing  well  nigh  alone  in  presence  of  the  throne  and  of 
those  barons  who  once  were  their  allies,  their  language  was 
humble,  their  conduct  timid,  and  the  king  might  well  have 
believed  that  thenceforward  the  people  would  be  as  docile  as 
the  great  nobles. 


r 


30 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


But  the  people  was  not  in  England,  as  on  the  continent,  an 
ill-combined  coalition  of  citizens  and  peasants,  whose  eman- 
cipation from  their  ancient  servitude  had  proceeded  by  very 
slow  degrees,  and  who  were  not  yet  quite  free  from  the  yoke. 
The  English  house  of  commons  had,  as  early  as  the  lour- 
teenth  cintury,  received  within  its  walls  the  most  numerous 
class  of  the  English  aristocracy,  all  the  proprietors  of  small 
fiefs,  who  had  not  sufficient  influence  or  wealth  to  share  with 
the  barons  the  sovereign  power,  but  were  proud  of  the  same 
oricrin,  and  had  long  possessed  the  same  rights.     Become  the 
leaders  of  the  nation,  these  men  had  more  than  once  commu- 
nicated to  it  a  strength,  and,  above  all,  a  boldness,  of  which 
the  commonalty  alone  would  have  been  incapable.     W eakenea 
«.  H  depressed,  in  common  with  the  lower  orders,  by  the  long 
miseries  of  civil  discord,  they  soon,  i"/l^%^,^°"^/ P^^,"^^! 
resumed  their  importance  and  their  pride.     While  the  higher 
nobility,  flocking  to  court  to  repair  their  losses,  were  invested 
with  factitious  greatness,  as  corrupting    as  precarious,    and 
which,  without  giving  them  back  their  former  fortunes,  sepa- 
rated them  more  and  more  from  the  people  ;  the  gentry,  the 
freeholders,  the  citizens,  solely  occupied  in  improvmg  their 
lands  or  their  commercial  capital,  were  increasing  m  riches 
and  credit,  were  becoming  daily  more  closely  united,  w^^^ 
drawing  the  entire  people  under  their  influence  ;r  and,  without 
,  show,  without  political  design,  almost  unconsciously  to  them- 
\  selves,  were  taking  possession  of  all  the  social  strength,  the 
l.true  source  of  power. 


/ 


In  the  towns,  commerce  and  industry  were  rapid  y  de- 
veloping themselves ;  the  city  of  London  had  already 
acquired  immense  wealth  ;  the  king,  the  court,  nearly  all  the 
great  nobles  of  the  kingdom,  became  its  debtors,  as  neces- 
sitous as  insolent.  The  mercantile  marine,  that  nursery  ot 
the  royal  navy,  was  numerous,  and  active  in  every  quarter, 
and  the  sailors  seemed  imbued  with  all  the  earnestness  of  their 

employers.  „  . 

In  the  country,  things  followed  the  same  course.  Property 
was  more  and  more  divided  out.  The  feudal  laws  opposed 
obstacles  to  the  sale  and  subdivision  of  fiefs :  a  statute  ot 
Henry  VII.  to  a  great  extent  removed  these  obstacles  indi- 
rectly ;  the  high  nobility  received  this  as  a  favor,  and  hastened 
to  profit  by  it.     They,  in  like  manner,  alienated  most  of  the 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


31 


vast  domains  that  Henry  VIII.  had  distributed  among  them.* 
The  king  favored  these  sales  in  order  to  augment  the  number 
of  possessors  of  ecclesiastical  property,  and  the  courtiers  were 
fain  to  have  recourse  to  them,'  for  all  the  abuses  within  their 
reach  did  not  suffice  for  their  necessities.  By  and  by,  Eliza- 
beth, to  avoid  asking  for  subsidies,  always  burdensome  even 
to  the  power  that  obtains  them,  sold  a  large  extent  of  the 
crown  lands.  Nearly  all  these  were  bought  by  gentlemen 
who  lived  on  their  estates,  by  freeholders  who  cultivated  theirs, 
or  by  citizens  retiring  from  trade,  for  they  alone  had  acquired 
by  their  industry  or  economy  the  means  of  paying  for  that 
which  the  prince  and  the  courtiers  could  not  keep.  Agricul- 
ture was  prospering,  the  counties  and  towns  were  becoming 
filled  with  a  rich,  active,  and  independent  population  ;  and  the 
movement  that  put  into  their  hands  a  large  proportion  of  the 
public  wealth  was  so  rapid,  that,  in  1628,  at  the  opening  of 
parliament,  the  house  of  commons  was  three  times  as  rich  as 
the  house  of  lords,  j" 

As  this  revolution  was  accomplishing  itself,  the  commons 
again  began  to  grow  uneasy  under  tyranny.  With  greater 
property,  greater  securities  became  necessary.  Rights  exer- 
cised by  the  prince  for  a  long  time  without  dispute,  and  still 
without  obstacle,  came  well  nigh  to  be  deemed  abuses  when 
a  much  greater  number  of  persons  felt  their  weight.  It  was 
asked,  had  the  king  of  England  always  possessed,  them  ? — 
whether  he  ought  ever  to  have  possessed  them  ?  By  degrees, 
the  remembrance  of  their  ancient  liberties,  of  the  eflTorts  that 
had  achieved  the  great  charter,  and  of  the  maxims  it  conse- 
crated, returned  to  the  minds  of  the  people.  The  court  spoke 
with  contempt  of  those  old  times,  as  rude  and  barbarous  ;  the 
people  recalled  them  with  respect  and  aflection,  as  free  and 
bold.  The  glorious  liberties  they  had  asserted  were  no  longer 
of  service,  and  yet  all  trace  of  them  was  not  lost.  Parliament 
had  not  ceased  to  meet ;  kings,  finding  it  docile,  had  often 

*  Clarendon,  v.,  G.  .       . 

t  Hume  (History  of  England,  Oxford,  1826,  vi.,  209)  cites  in  con- 
firmation of  this  assertion,  Sanderson  and  Walker,  historians  of  little 
authority.  I  have  not  been  able  to  discover,  in  contemporary  writers 
whose  testimony  deserves  more  confidence,  so  precise  a  valuation  of  the 
comparative  wealth  of  the  two  houses ;  but  everything  attests  that  the 
house  of  commons  was  much  richer  than  the  house  of  lords. 


32 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


I*  f. 


even  employed  it  as  an  instrument  of  their  power.  Under 
Henry  VIII.,  Mary,  and  Elizabeth,  juries  had  showed  them- 
selves complaisant,  servile  even,  but  still  the  institution  ex- 
isted. The  towns  had  preserved  their  charters,  the  corpora- 
tions their  franchises.  In  short,  though  long  strangers  to 
resistance,  the  commons  still  possessed  the  means  of  resist- 
ance ;  institutions  tending  to  liberty  were  not  half  so  much 
wanting  as  the  power  and  will  to  make  use  of  them.  The 
power,  however,  returned  to  them  with  the  revolution,  which 
communicated  such  rapid  progress  to  their  material  greatness. 
That  the  will  might  not  be  far  behindhand,  all  that  was  needed 
was  another  revolution,  which  should  inspire  a  moral  great- 
ness, embolden  their  ambition,  elevate  their  thoughts,  make 
resistance  a  duty,  and  dominion  a  necessity.  The  Reforma- 
tion had  this  effect. 

Proclaimed  in  England  by  a  despot,  the  Reformation  began 
there  in  tyranny  ;  scarcely  born,  she  persecuted  her  partisans 
and  her  enemies  alike.  Henry  VIII.  with  one  hand  raised 
scaffolds  for  the  catholics,  with  the  other  piled  up  faggots 
for  the  protestants  who  refused  to  subscribe  to  the  creed, 
and  approve  the  government  which  the  new  church  received 
from  him. 

There  were,  then,  from  the  outset  two  reformations — that 
of  tlie  king  and  that  of  the  people :  the  first  unsettled  and  ser- 
vile, more  attached  to  temporal  interests  than  to  belief,  alarmed 
at  the  movement  which  had  given  it  birth,  and  seeking  to  bor- 
row from  Catholicism  all  that  in  separating  from  Catholicism 
it  could  retain;  the  other,  spontaneous,  ardent,  despising 
worldly  considerations,  accepting  all  the  consequences  of  its 
principles — in  a  word,  a  true  moral  revolution,  undertaken  in 
the  name  and  with  the  ardor  of  faith. 

United  for  some  time — under  queen  Mary  by  common 
suffering,  and  at  the  accession  of  Elizabeth  by  common  joy — 
the  two  reformations  could  not  long  fail  to  separate,  and  turn 
against  each  other.  And  such  was  their  situation,  that  poli- 
tics became  necessarily  mixed  up  in  their  debates.  In  sepa- 
rating herself  from  the  independent  head  of  the  Catholic 
church,  the  Anglican  church  had  lost  all  its  own  strength, 
and  no  longer  held  her  rights  or  her  power  but  as  of  the  power 
and  rights  of  the  sovereigns  of  the  state.  She  was  thus  bound 
to  the  cause  of  civil  despotism,  and  constrained  to  profess  its 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


33 


maxims  in  order  to  legitimate  her  own  origin,  to  serve  its  \ 
interests  in  order  to  preserve  her  own.     On  their  part,  the  \ 
nonconformists,  in  attacking  their  religious  adversaries,  found 
themselves  also  compelled  to  attack  the  temporal  sovereign, 
and  in  accomplishing  the  reformation  of  the  church,  to  assert 
the  liberties  of  the  people.     The  king  had  succeeded  to  the 
pope  ;  the  Anglican  clergy,  successors  of  the  Catholic  clergy,  / 
no  longer  acted  but  in  the  name  of  the  king  :  throughout,  in  a 
dogma,  a  ceremony^  a  prayer,  the  erection  of  an  alTaf^lHef 
fashion  of  a  surplice,  the  royal  will  was  compromised  in  cOrnT" 
mon  with  that  of  the  bishops,  the  government  in  common  with' 
the  discipline  and  faith. 

In  this  perilous  necessity  of  a  double  struggle  against  the 
prince  and  the  church,  of  a  simultaneous  reformation  in  reli- 
gion and  state,  the  nonconformists  at  first  hesitated.  Popery, 
and  everything  that  resembled  it,  was  odious  and  unlawful  in 
their  sight ;  but  not  so,  as  yet,  royal  authority,  even  though 
despotic.  Henry  VIII.  had  begun  the  reformation,  Elizabeth 
saved  it.  .The  boldest  puritans  hesitated  to  measure  the  rights, 
to  prescribe  limits  to  a  power  to  which  they  owed  so  much ; 
and  if  at  intervals  individuals  made  a  step  towards  this  holy 
object,  the  astonished  nation  thanked  them  silently,  but  did  not 
foljow  them.  # 

But  something  must  be  done  ;  reform  must  either  retrograde, 
or  lay  its  hand  too  upon  government,  which  alone  obstructed 
its  progress.  By  degrees,  men's  minds  grew  more  daring; 
the  force  of  conscience  gave  boldness  to  ideas  and  designs  ; 
religious  creeds  required  political  rights  ;  people  began  to  in- 
quire why  they  did  not  enjoy  them  ?  who  had  usurped  them  ? 
by  what  right  ?  what  was  the  way  to  regain  them  ?  The 
obscure  citizen,  who,  lately,  at  the  mere  name  of  Elizabeth, 
would  have  bent  low  in  fearful  respect,  and  who,  probably, 
would  never  have  turned  towards  the  throne  a  bolder  look,  if 
in  the  tyranny  of  the  bishops  he  had  not  recognized  that  of 
the  queen,  now  sternly  interrogated  both  the  one  and  the  other 
as  to  their  pretensions,  when  constrained  to  do  so  in  defence 
of  his  faith.  iLwas  more  particularly  among  the  private  gen- 
try, the  freeholders,  burghers,  and  the  commonalty,  that  thisi 
feeling  of  inquiry  and  resistance  in  the  matter  of  government,]- 
as  well  as  in  matter  of  faith,  diffused  itself,  for  it  was  among 
them  that  religious  reform  was  fermenting  and  making  its 


li 


34 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


way.     Less  interested  about  religious  creeds,  the  court  and  a 
part  of  the  lower  nobility  were  content  with  the  innovations 
of  Henry  VIII.  and  his  successors,  and  supported  the  Angli- 
can church  from  conviction,  indifference,  self-interest,  or  loy- 
alty.     Less  connected  with  the   interests,  and  at  the  same 
time  more  exposed  to  the  violence  of  power,  the  English  com- 
mons thenceforward  entirely  changed,  with  reference  to  roy- 
alty, their  attitude  and  their  ideas.     Day  by  day,  their  timid- 
ity  lessened,   and  their  ambition  grew.     The  views  of  the 
citizen  and  the  freeholder  ;  even  of  the  peasant,  were  raised 
above  his  condition.  [Tie  was  a  Christian  ;  in  his  own  house, 
among  his  friends,  he  boldly  examined  the  mysteries  of  divine 
power  ;  what  terrestrial  power  then  was  so  exalted  that  he 
must  abstain  from  considering  it  ?     In  his  Bible  he  read  the 
laws  of  God  ;  to  obey  them,  he  was   forced  to  resist  other 
laws ;  he  must  needs  then  ascertain  where  the  latter  should 
stop  short.     He  who  seeks  to  know  the  limits  of  a  master's 
rights  will  soon  seek  also  their  origin  :  the  nature  of  royal 
power,  of  all  powers,  their  ancient  limits,  their  recent  usur- 
pations, the  conditions  and  the  sources  of  their  legitimacy, 
became  throughout  England  the  subject  of  examination  and 
conversatiorj  examination,  at  first  timid,  and  undertaken  ra- 
ther from  necessity  than  choice;  conversation,  for  a  long  time 
secret,  and  which,  even  when  held,  the  people  were  afraid  to 
carry  to  any  length,  but  which  gave  greater  freedom,  and  a 
boldness    hitherto    unknown   to   mind.     Elizabeth,  however 
popular  and  respected,  felt  the  effects  of  this  growing  disposi- 
tion,* and  rigorously  resisted  it,  but  so  as  not  to  encounter  ac- 
tual peril.     Matters  grew  much  worse  under  James.     Weak 
and  despised,  he  wished  to  be  thought  a  despot ;  the  dogmatic 
display  of  his  impotent  pretensions  only  provoked  fresh  dar- 
ing, which  again  he  irritated  without  repressing.     The  popu- 
lar thought  soared  high  and  free — it  had  no  longer  any  check  ; 
the  monarch  was  an  object  of  ridicule,  his  favorites,  of  indig- 
nation.    On  the  throne,  at  court,  haughty  pride  was  without 
power,  even  without  effect ;  the  base  corruption  to  which  it 
resorted,  inspired  thinking  men  with  profound  disgust,  and 
brought  the  highest  rank  within  the  reach  of  degrading  in- 
sults on  the  part  of  the  popalace.     It  was  no  longer  the  privi- 

♦  See  Appendix,  No.  1. 


I 


ENGLISH  REVOLUTION. 


35 


lege  of  lofty  minds  to  look  nobility  in  the  face,  and  measure 
it  coolly  :  the  commonest  citizen  equally  asserted  this  right. 
The  opposition  soon  appeared  as  haughty  and  more  confident 
than  power  ;  and  it  was  not  the  opposition  of  the  great  barons, 
of  the  house  of  lords,  it  was  that  of  the  house  of  commons, 
resolved  to  take  in  the  state  a  place,  to  assume  over  the  go- 
vernment an  influence  which  it  had  never  attained.  Their 
indifference  to  the  pompous  menaces  of  the  prince,  their 
haughty,  though  respectful  language,  manifested  that  every- 
thing was  changed  ;  that  they  thought  proudly,  and  were 
determined  to  act  authoritatively ;  and  the  secret  impression 
of  this  moral  revolution  was  already  so  diffused,  that,  in  1621, 
when  awaiting  a  committee  of  the  commons,  which  came  to 
present  him  with  a  severe  remonstrance,  James  said,  with  an 
irony  less  painful  to  himself  than  it  would  have  been  c6uld  he 
have  foreseen  coming  events  :  "  Place  twelve  arm-chairs — I 
am  going  to  receive  twelve  kings."* 

And,  in  fact,  it  was  almost  a  senate  of  kings  that  an  abso- 
lute monarch  called  around  his  throne,  when  Charles  I.  con- 
voked the  parliament.  Neither  the  prince  nor  the  people, 
more  especially  the  latter,  had  as  yet  clearly  ascertained  the 
principle,  or  measured  the  compass  of  their  pretensions ;  they 
approached  each  other,  with  the  design  and  sincere  hope  of 
union,  but  at  bottom  disunion  was  already  complete,  for  both 
the  one  and  the  other  thought  as  sovereigns. 

As  soon  as  the  session  was  opened,  the  commons  began  to 
look  closely  into  every  department  of  government ;  external 
and  domestic  affairs,  negotiation,  alliances,  the  application  of 
past  subsidies  and  of  future  subsidies,  the  state  of  religion, 
the  repression  of  popery  ;  nothing  appeared  to  them  beyond 
their  cognizance.  They  complained  of  the  Royal  Navy,  as 
affording  inadequate  protection  to  English  commerce  (Aug. 
11,  1625),  of  Dr.  Montague,  the  king's  chaplain,  for  defend- 
ing the  Romish  church  and  preaching  up  passive  obedience 
(7th  July).  They  expected  from  the  king  alone  the  redress 
of-  all  their  grievances,  but  meantime  evinced  their  determi- 
nation to  interfere  in  every  case  by  inquiries,  petitions,  and 
the  expression  of  their  opinion. 


*  Rapin's    Hist,  of  England,  viii.,  1S3 ;  Kennet's  Hist,  of  England, 
iii.,  743. 


<^ 


36 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


They  but  slightly  reproached  the  government  of  Charles ; 
it  was  only  just  commencing.  Yet  so  extended  and  energetic 
an  examination  of  public  affairs  appeared  to  him  already  an 
encroachment ;  the  ireedom  of  speech  offended  him.  One  of 
the  court  party,  Mr.  Edward  Clarke,  essayed  a  complamt  on 
this  head  in  the  house  ;  **  unbecoming  and  bitter  words,'  he 
said,  *'  had  been  made  use  of."  A  general  cry  summoned 
him  to  appear  at  the  bar,  and  explain  ;  he  persisted  ;  and  the 
house  was  on  the  point  of  expelling  him  (Aug.  6). 

Their  speech,  indeed,  was  sufficiently  bold,  though  m  hum- 
bier  terms.  C"  We  do  not  desire,  as  5  Henry  IV.  or  29  Henry 
VI.,  the  removing  from  about  the  king  any  evil  counsellors. 
We  do  not  request  a  choice  by  name,  as  14  Edward  II.,  3, 
5,  11,  Richard  II.,  8  Henry  IV.,  or  31  Henry  VI. ;  nor  to 
swear  them  in  parliament,  as  35  Edward  I.,  9  Edward  II.,  or 
5  Richard  II.  ;  or  to  line  them  out  their  directions  of  rule,  as 
43  Henry  III.,  and  8  Henry  VI.  ;  or  desire  that  which  Henry 
III.  did  promise  in  his  42d  year  :  *  Se  acta  omnia  per  assen- 
sum  magnatum  de  concilio  suo  electorum,  et  sine  eorum  as- 
sensu   nihil.'     We  only  in  loyal   duty  offer  up  our  humble 
desires,  that  since  his  majesty  hath,  with  advised  judgment, 
elected  so  wise,  religious  and  worthy  servants,  to  attend  him 
in  that  high  employment,  he  will  be  pleased  to  advise  with 
them  together,  a  way  of  remedy  for  these  disasters  in  state, 
brought  on  by  long  security  and  happy  peace  ;  and  not  be  led 
with  young  and  simple  council.^  Thus  spoke  (6  Aug.)  Sir 
Robert  Cotton,  a  learned,  eloquent,  and  moderate  man  ;  and 
the  commons,  while  protesting  with  him  that  they  had  no  inten- 
tion of  imitating  the  boldness  of  the  old  parliament,  congratu- 
lated themselves  upon  hearing  it  recalled  to  mind. 
•    The  king  grew  angry,  but  did  not  openly  complain.     Such 
language,  though  disagreeable,  did  not  appear  to  him  as  yet 
dangerous.     Besides,  he  wanted  subsidies.     The  last  parlia- 
ment had  ardently  demanded  war  with  Spain  ;  the  new  one 
could  not  refuse  to  support  it.     Charles  insisted  that  without 
delay  the  means  of  prosecuting  it  should  be  furnished  him, 
promising  to  redress  just  grievances. 

But  the  house  no  longer  trusted  to  promises,  not  even  to 
those  of  a  king  who  had  not  yet  broken  any,  and  whom  they 
esteemed.  Princes  inherit  the  faults  as  well  as  the  thrones 
of  their   predecessors.      Charles  thought  the  people    should 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


37 


fear  nothing  from  him,  as  he  had  done  no  ill ;  the  people,  that 
all  the  sources  of  past  ills  should  be  extirpated,  that  nothing 
might  be  feared  for  the  future.  The  commons  only  gave,  at 
first,  a  small  subsidy,  and  the  customs  duties  were  only  voted 
for  a  year.  This  last  resolution  seemed  an  insult,  and  the 
lords  refused  to  sanction  it.  Why  should  the  commons,  de- 
manded the  court  people,  place  less  confidence  in  the  present 
king  than  in  his  predecessors  ?  They  all  had  the  customs 
duties  voted  for  the  continuance  of  their  reign.  Yet  his 
majesty  had  fully  exhibited,  with  a  rare  sincerity,  the  state  of 
the  finances,  refusing  no  document,  no  voucher,  no  explana- 
tion, that  was  required.  The  urgency  of  the  public  necessi- 
ties was  evident ;  there  was  little  wisdom,  thought  the  lords, 
in  angering  so  soon,  without  motive,  a  young  prince  who 
showed  himself  so  inclined  to  live  on  good  terms  with  the 
parliament. 

The  commons  did  not  say  they  would  not  grant  larger  sub- 
sidies ;  but  they  proceeded  with  the  examination  of  grievan- 
ces ;  resolved,  though  they  did  not  announce  the  intention,  to 
obtain  first  and  foremost  of  all  things,  their  redress.  The 
king  was  indignant  that  they  should  dare  to  prescribe  to  him, 
and  suppose  that  he  would  yield  to  force,  or  permit  himself 
to  be  set  aside.  It  was  a  usurpation  of  that  sovereignty 
which  belonged  to  him  alone,  and  which  in  no  case  he  would 
suffer  to  be  brought  in  question.  Parliament  was  dissolved 
(Aug.  12). 

Thus,  notwithstanding  their  mutual  good  will,  the  prince 
and  the  people  had  only  met  to  disagree ;  they  separated 
without  either  the  one  or  the  other  side  feeling  itself  weak  or 
believing  itself  in  the  wrong,  equally  certain  of  the  legitimacy 
of  its  pretensions,  equally  resolved  to  persevere  in  them.  The 
commons  protested  that  they  were  devoted  to  the  king,  but 
would  not  yield  up  to  him  their  liberties.  The  king  said  he 
respected  the  liberties  of  his  subjects,  but  that  he  would  take 
care  to  govern  by  himself,  without  their  interference.  And 
he  immediately  set  about  it.  Orders  from  the  council  to  the 
lord  lieutenants  of  the  counties  enjoined  them  to  raise  by  way 
of  loan  the  money  the  king  wanted.  They  were  to  apply  for 
this  to  the  rich  citizens  in  their  districts,  and  to  send  to  the 
court  the  names  of  those  who  should  refuse  to  lend,  or  even 
be  tardy  in  their  loans.     They  calculated  at  once  upon  affec- 


'■■Y 


38 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


39 


tion  and  upon  fear.  At  the  same  time,  the  fleet  sailed  on  an 
expedition  against  Cadiz,  the  bay  of  which  was  crowded  with 
richly-freighted  vessels.  In  order,  meanwhile,  to  gratify  the 
people,  the  clergy  were  directed  to  proceed  against  the  Catho- 
lics, who  were  forbidden  to  go  further  than  five  miles  from 
their  place  of  abode,  without  previous  permission,  were  ordered 
to  recall  from  the  continent  the  children  whom  they  had  sent 
there  to  be  educated,  and  were  disarmed.  The  commons  de- 
manded their  own  liberties ;  they  were  given,  instead,  a  little 
tyranny  over  their  enemies. 

This  contemptible  expedient  did  not  content  them  :  besides, 
the  persecution,  even  of  the  Catholics,  was  equivocal,  and  mat- 
ter of  suspicion  ;  the  king  sold  them  dispensations,  or  granted 
them  pardons,  under  his  own  hand.  The  loan  brought  but 
little  money  to  the  treasury  ;  the  expedition  against  Cadiz 
failed ;  the  public  attributed  the  failure  to  the  unskilfulness 
of  the  admiral  and  the  drunkenness  of  the  troops ;  the  govern- 
ment was  accused  of  neither  knowing  how  to  choose  its 
generals,  nor  how  to  regulate  the  conduct  of  its  soldiers.  Six 
months  had  scarcely  passed,  when  a  second  parliament  was 
thought  necessary  (Feb.  6,  1626).  Rancor  had  not  yet 
taken  deep  root  in  the  soul  of  the  young  king  ;  and  his  des- 
potism was  at  once  self-confident  and  timid.  He  thought  the 
commons  would  be  delighted  to  return  so  soon  ;  perhaps  he 
even  hoped  that  the  firmness  he  had  shown  would  render 
them  more  docile.  He  had,  moreover,  taken  measures  to 
keep  from  parliament  the  most  popular  orators.  The  earl 
of  Bristol,  a  personal  enemy  of  the  duke  of  Buckingham, 
received  no  summons  to  attend.  Sir  Edward  Coke,  Sir  Robert 
Philips,  Sir  Thomas  Wentworth,  Sir  Francis  Seymour,*  and 
others,  being  named  sheriffs  of  their  counties,  could  not  be 
elected  for  them.  It  was  not  doubted  but  in  their  absence 
the  commons  would  be  submissive ;  for  the  people  love  the 
king,  it  was  said  ;  'tis  only  a  few  factious  men  that  lead  them 
astray. 

But  the  commons,  too,  had  their  notion  that  the  king  was 
being  led  astray,  and  that  to  restore  him  to  his  people,  it  was 
only  necessary  to  remove  him  from  the  favorite.     The  first 

*  Seven  in  all :  the  three  others,  of  less  note,  were  Sir  Grev  Palmer, 
Sir  William  Fleetwood,  and  Mr.  Edward  Alford.  \. 


parliament  had  limited  itself  to  exacting  from  the  throne,  by 
delaying  the  subsidies,  the  redress  of  public  grievances.  The 
present  resolved  to  assail,  at  the  very  foot  of  the  throne,  the 
author  of  their  grievances.  The  duke  of  Buckingham  was 
impeached  (Feb.  21). 

The  duke  was  one  of  those  men  who  seem  bom  to  shine  in 
courts,  and  to  displease  nations.  Handsome,  presumptuous, 
magnificent,  frivolous,  but  daring,  sincere  and  warm  in  his 
attachments,  open  and  haughty  in  his  hatreds,  alike  incapable 
of  virtue  or  hypocrisy,  he  governed  without  political  design, 
troubling  himself  neither  about  the  interests  of  the  country, 
nor  even  those  of  power,  wholly  occupied  with  his  own  great- 
ness and  with  exhibiting,  in  dazzling  display,  his  co-royalty. 
On  one  occasion  he  had  endeavored  to  render  himself  popular, 
and  had  succeeded  :  the  rupture  of  the  intended  marriage  of 
Charles  with  the  infanta  was  his  work.  But  public  favor 
was,  with  him,  only  a  means  of  obtaining  ascendency  over 
the  king,  so  that  when  public  favor  quitted  him,  he  scarcely 
observed  its  loss,  so  full  of  proud  joy  was  he  at  retaining  over 
Charles  the  influence  he  had  insolently  exercised  over  James  I. 
He  had  no  talent  whereby  to  support  his  ambition ;  frivolous 
passions  were  the  sole  aim  of  his  intrigues ;  to  seduce  a  woman, 
to  ruin  a  rival,  he  compromised  with  arrogant  carelessness, 
now  the  king,  now  the  country.  The  empire  of  such  a  man 
seemed  to  a  people  becoming,  day  by  day,  more  grave  and 
serious,  an  insult  as  well  as  a  calamity ;  and  the  duke  con- 
tinued to  usurp  the  highest  oflices  of  the  state,*  without  appear- 
ing, even  in  the  eyes  of  the  populace,  anything  better  than  an 
upstart  without  glory — a  daring  and  incapable  favorite. 

The  attack  of  the  commons  was  violent :  it  was  difficult  to 
prove  against  Buckingham  any  legal  crime ;  the  house  re- 
solved (Apr.    22),  that   public    report   alone   was   sufficient 

*  He  was  duke,  marquis,  and  earl  of  Buckingham,  earl  of  Coventry, 
viscount  Villiers,  baron  of  Whaddon,  lord  high  admiral  of  England  and 
Ireland,  governor-general  of  the  seas  and  navy,  master  of  the  horse, 
lieutenant-general-admiral,  commander-in-chief,  warden  of  the  cinque 
ports,  governor  of  Dover  castle,  keeper  of  the  royal  forests  south  of 
Trent,  lord  high  keeper,  high  steward  of  Westminster,  constable  of 
Windsor  castle,  gentleman  of  the  bedchamber,  knight  of  the  garter, 
privy  councillor,  &c.  The  royal  domains  he  had  managed  to  have 
given  him  were  valued  at  284,395/.,  &c.— Brodie,  Hist,  of  the  British 
Empire,  &c.,  ii.,  122. 


40 


HrSTORY   OF   THE 


111 
I. 


f 


n  If 

jl  ij:' 


ground  on  which  to  proceed  ;  and  it  collected  together  all  the 
leading  charges  adduced  by  general  rumor.*  The  duke 
repelled  them— most  of  them,  at  all  events — satisfactorily, 
but  without  any  advantage  to  himself.  It  was  misgovemment 
that  the  commons  wished  to  reform.  Innocent  of  theft,  mur- 
der, or  treason,  Buckingham  was  not  less  pernicious.  The 
boldness  of  the  commons  gave  courage  to  court  enmities. 
ThQ  earl  of  Bristol,  in  March,  1626,  complained  of  not  having 
been  summoned  to  parliament.f  Buckingham,  who  feared, 
wished  to  keep  him  at  a  distance.  The  lords  acknowledged 
the  earl's  right,  and  Charles  sent  him  a  summons,  but  accom- 
panied it  with  an  order  to  remain  on  his  estates.  The  earl 
appealed  a  second  time  to  the  house  of  lords,  beseeching  them 
to  examine  whether  the  liberties  of  all  the  peers  of  the  realm 
did  not  require  that  he  should  come  and  take  his  seat.  The 
king  immediately  impeached  him  of  high  treason  (May  1).^ 
In  self-defence,  Bristol,  in  his  turn,  impeached  Buckingham  ;§ 
and  Charles  saw  his  favorite  pursued  at  once  by  the  represen- 
tatives of  the  people  and  by  an  old  courtier. 

It  was  a  step  at  once  endangering  his  power,  and  deeply 
offensive  to  his  pride.  They  had  not  been  able  to  convict 
Buckingham  of  any  crime :  this  blow,  then,  was  aimed  at  his 
minister  and  his  friend.  He  said  to  the  commons :  "  I  must 
let  you  know,  that  I  will  not  allow  any  of  my  servants  to  be 
questioned  amongst  you,  much  less  such  as  are  of  eminent 
place  and  near  unto  me.  The  old  question  was,  *  What  shall 
be  done  to  the  man  whom  the  king  will  honor  V  But  now  it 
hath  been  the  labor  of  some  to  seek  what  may  be  done  against 
him  whom  the  king  thinks  fit  to  honor.  I  see  you  specially 
aim  at  the  duke  of  Buckingham  ;  I  wonder  what  hath  so 
altered  your  affections  towards  him.  I  do  well  remember, 
that  in  the  last  parliament,  in  my  father's  time,  when  he  was 
the  instrument  to  break  the  treaties,  all  of  you  (and  yet  I 
cannot  say  all,  for  I  know  some  of  you  are  changed,  but  yet 
the  house  of  commons  is  always  the  same)  did  so  much  honor 
and  respect  him,  that  all  the  honor  conferred  on  him  was  too 
little;  and  what  he  hath  done  since  to  alter  and  change 
your  minds,  I  wot  not ;  but  can  assure  you  he  hath  not  med- 
dled, or  done  anything  concerning  the  public  or  commonwealth, 

•  Pari.  Hist. ,  ii. ,  32.        f  lb. ,  72.        J  lb. ,  79.         §  lb. ,  86. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


41 


but  by  special  directions  and  appointment,  and  as  my  servant  ;• 
and  is  so  far  from  gaining  or  improving  his  estate  thereby, 
that  I  verily  think  he  hath  rather  impaired  the  same.  I  wish 
you  would  hasten  my  supply,  or  else  it  will  be  worse  for 
yourselves  ;  for  if  any  ill  happen,  I  think  I  shall  be  the  last 
that  shall  feel  it."*  At  the  same  time,  he  forbade  the  judges 
to  answer  the  questions  which  the  upper  house  had  submitted 
to  them  upon  a  point  in  the  earl  of  Bristol's"!*  case,  fearing 
their  answer  would  be  in  that  nobleman's  favor. 

The  judges  were  silent ;  but  the  commons  did  not  desist. 
Eight  of  its  members  were  appointed  to  support,  in  a  confer- 
ence with  the  upper  house,  the  impeachment  of  Buckingham 
(May  3).  J  As  soon  as  the  conference  was  over,  the  king  caused 
two  of  the  commissioners,  sir  Dudley  Digges  and  sir  John  Eliot, 
to  be  sent  to  the  Tower  for  insolence  of  speech§  (May  11). 
The  incensed  commons  declared  they  would  do  nothing  till 
these  gentlemen  were  set  at  liberty.  ||  In  vain  the  friends  of 
the  court  sought  to  frighten  them  as  to  the  fate  of  parliament 
itself  IF  (May  13) ;  their  threats  only  appeared  an  insult,  and 
they  were  fain  to  offer  to  the  house  an  apology  for  having  in- 
sinuated that  the  king  might  very  likely  be  tempted  to  govern 
alone,  like  the  princes  on  the  continent.  The  two  prisoners 
speedily  quitted  the  Tower. 

On  its  part,  the  lords  demanded  also  that  lord  Arundel, 
whom  the  king  had  caused  to  be  arrested  during  the  sitting 
of  Parliament,  should  be  set  at  liberty,  and  Charles  here,  in 
like  manner,  gave  way**  (June  8). 

Wearied  of  seeing  himself  defeated  by  adversaries  whom  he 
had  himself  called  together  and  could  disperse,  after  trying  the 
efFectof  various  overtures  of  civility  which  were  always  receiv- 
ed with  great  delight,  but  which,  meaning  nothing,  prevented 
nothing,  hearing  that  the  commons  were  preparing  a  general 
remonstrance,  Charles  resolved  to  relieve  himself  from  a  position 
that  humiliated  him  in  the  eyes  of  Europe  and  in  his  own.  A 
rumor  went  abroad  that  Parliament  was  about  to  be  dis- 
solved.     The  upper  house,  which   began  to  seek  popular 

*  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  49.  f  Ibid.,  106. 

X  Journals,  Commons.  They  were,  sir  Dudley  Digges,  Mr.  Herbert, 
Mr.  Selden,  Mr.  Glanville,  Mr.  Pym,  Mr.  Whitby,  Mr.  Wandesford, 
and  sir  John  Eliot. 

§  P.  Hist.,  ii.,  103.         II  lb.,  119.  IT  lb.,  120.  **  lb.,  132. 

4* 


k 


42 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


43 


13    :!  J 


^|l' 


favor,  hastened  to  address  a  petition  to  the  king  to  dissuade 
him  from  this  design  ;  and  all  the  peers  accompanied  the  com- 
mittee  charged  with  its  presentation.  **  No,  not  a  minute  !'' 
exclaimed  Charles.  The  dissolution  was  immediately  de- 
clared* (June  15),  and  a  royal  proclamation  explained  the 
reasons  for  it.  The  projected  remonstrance  of  the  commons 
was  publicly  burnt,  and  whoever  possessed  a  copy  of  it,  was 
ordered  to  burn  it  also.f  Lord  Arundel  was  placed  under 
arrest  in  his  own  house,  Bristol  in  the  Tower ;  J  the  duke  of 
Buckingham  thought  himself  saved,  and  Charles  felt  himself 
a  king. 

His  joy  was  as  short  as  his  foresight :  absolute  power  has 
also  its  necessities.  Engaged  in  a  ruinous  war  against  Spain 
and  Austria,  CharleS  had  not  at  his  disposal  an  army  which 
he  could  employ  in  conquering  at  the  same  time  his  enemies 
and  his  subjects.  Few  and  badly  disciplined,  his  troops  were 
exceedingly  expensive ;  puritanism  reigned  in  the  navy  ;  he 
dared  not  trust  the  militia,  far  more  under  the  influence  of 
the  citizens  and  country  gentlemen  than  the  king.  He  had 
removed  adversaries,  but  not  embarrassments  and  obstacles ; 
and  the  insane  pride  of  Buckingham  now  created  new  troubles. 
To  avenge  himself  on  the  cardinal  de  Richelieu,  who  had 
prevented  him  from  returning  to  Paris,  to  follow  up  his  daring 
success  with  Anne  of  Austria,  he  induced  his  master  to  enter 
into  a  war  with  France.  The  interests  of  protestantism  served 
as  a  pretext ;  it  was  essential  to  save  Rochelle,  then  under 
siege,  or  the  French  protestants  would  be  lost.  It  was  hoped 
that,  for  this  cause,  the  people  would  passionately  arm  them- 
selves ;  or,  at  least,  would  suffer  themselves  to  be  oppressed 
without  resistance. 

A  general  loan  was  ordered,  of  the  same  amount  as  the 
subsidies  which  parliament  had  promised,  but  not  voted.  The 
commissioners  were  enjoined  to  interrogate  the  refractory  as 
to  the  grounds  of  their  refusal,  to  learn  who  had  persuaded 
them,  by  what  arguments,  with  what  design.  This  was  at 
once  an  attack  upon  property  and  an  inquisition  into  opinion. 
Several  regiments  were  spread  over  different  counties,  and 
quartered  upon  the  inhabitants.  The  seaports  and  maritime 
districts  received  orders  to  furnish  vessels  armed  and  equipped, 


♦P.  Hist,  ii.,  193. 


\  lb.,  207. 


t  lb.,  193. 


the  first  attempt  at  ship-money.  Twenty  were  demanded  from 
the  city  of  London ;  the  corporation  replied,  that  to  repel  the 
armada  of  Philip  IL,  queen  Elizabeth  had  required  fewer:  the 
answer  to  this  was,  that  "  the  precedents  in  former  times  were 
obedience  and  not  direction."* 

To  justify  this  language,  the  doctrine  of  passive  obedience 
was  ordered  to  be  everywhere  preached  up.  The  archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  George  Abbot,  a  popular  prelate,  refused  to 
license  the  sale  in  his  diocese  of  a  sermon  (by  Dr.  Sibthorp) 
in  support  of  absolute  power ;  he  was  suspended,  and  relegated 
to  Canterbury. f 

It  soon  appeared  that  too  much  had  been  presumed  on  the 
passions  of  the  people  ;  they  did  not  permit  themselves  to  be 
persuaded  to  forget  their  liberty  for  the  sake  of  their  creed. 
Besides,  they  distrusted  the  sincerity  of  this  new  zeal ;  leave 
them  free,  let  a  parliament  be  called,  they  would  lend  their 
reformed  brethren  on  the  continent  much  more  solid  aid. 
Many  citizens  refused  to  contribute  to  the  loan  ;  some,  obscure 
and  powerless,  were  pressed  into  the  fleet  or  army ;  others 
were  cast  into  prison,  or  charged  with  distant  missions  which 
they  were  not  in  a  position  to  reject.  Discontent,  though  as 
yet  not  breaking  out  into  sedition,  did  not  confine  itself  to 
murmurs  only,  (rive  gentlemen,  detained  in  custody  by  an 
order  in  council,  claimed  of  the  court  of  king's  bench,  as  the 
inherent  right  of  every  Englishman,  to  be  discharged  on  bail.:]: 
An  imperious  king  and  an  irritated  nation  alike  pressed  the 
case  on  to  judgment.  The  king  required  of  the  judges  to 
declare,  as  a  principle,  that  no  man  arrested  by  his  orders 
should  be  admitted  to  bail ;  the  people  demanded  to  know 
whether  all  security  was  withheld  from  the  defenders  of  their 
liberties  ?  The  court  of  justice  rejected  the  application  (Nov. 
28,  1627),  and  sent  the  parties  back  to  prison ;  but  without 
laying  down  the  general  principle  the  king  desired  :  already, 
struck  with  a  double  fear,  the  magistrates  dared  not  show 
themselves  either  servile  or  just ;  and,  to  obviate  as  they  best 

*  Whitelocke,  Memorial  of  English  Affairs  (London,  1G82),  p.  7. 

f  lb.,  p.  8.  .         - 

}  Their  names  were,  sir  Thomas  Darnel,  sir  John  Corbet,  sir  Walter 
Earl,  sir  John  Heveningham,  and  sir  Edward  Hampden  (Rushworth, 
Historical  Collections,  London,  1659 ;  i.,  458).  This  last  must  not  be 
mistaken  for  his  cousin,  John  Hampden,  afterwards  so  celebrated. 


44 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


45 


■*  111 


]" 


might  the  dilemma,  they  refused  to  despotism  their  consent, 
to  liberty  their  aid. 

In  their  jealous  ardor  to  maintain  all  their  rights,  the  people 
took  under  their  protection  even  the  soldiers  who  served  as  the 
instruments  of  tyranny.  In  every  direction,  complaints  were 
raised  of  the  excesses  of  these  men  :  to  repress  them,  martial 
law  was  enforced.  The  people  took  it  ill  that  so  arbitrary  a 
power  should  be  exercised  without  the  sanction  of  parliament, 
and  that  Englishmen,  soldiers  or  otherwise^  whether  employed 
in  persecuting  or  in  protecting  their  fellow-citizens,  should  bo 
deprived  of  the  security  o^  the  law. 

In  the  midst  of  this  irritation,  as  yet  impotent,  but  more  and 
more  aggressive,  news  came  that  the  expedition  sent  to  the 
succor  of  Rochelle,  and  which  Buckingham  commanded  in 
person,  had  failed  (Oct.  28).  The  unskilfulness  of  the  general 
had  caused  this  failure ;  he  had  neither  been  able  to  take  the 
isle  of  Re,. nor  to  re-embark  without  losing  the  best  of  his 
troops,  officers  and  soldiers.  It  was  long  since  England  had 
paid  so  dear  for  so  much  disgrace.*  In  country  and  town,  a 
multitude  of  families,  beloved  and  respected  by  the  people, 
were  in  mourning.  The  indignation  was  universal.  The 
laborer  left  his  fields,  the  apprentice  his  shop,  to  see  whether 
his  employer,  gentleman  or  citizen,  had  not  lost  a  brother,  or 
son  ;  and  returned,  cursing  Buckingham,  and  accusing  the 
king,  to  relate  to  his  neighbors  the  disasters  he  had  .heard 
described,  the  general  sorrow  he  had  witnessed.  Losses  of 
another  kind  came  to  embitter  men's  minds;  the  enemy's 
navy  harassed  and  interrupted  English  commerce  ;  its 
vessels  remained  in  port ;  the  unemployed  sailors  talked  over 
the  reverses  of  the  royal  navy,  and  the  causes  of  their  own 
inaction.  From  day  to  day,  the  gentry,  the  citizens,  the 
populace,  became  more  closely  united  in  one  common  resent- 
ment. 

Buckingham,  on  his  return,  notwithstanding  his  arrogance, 
felt  the  weight  of  public  hatred  and  the  necessity  of  saving 
himself  from  it ;  besides  which,  some  expedient  must  be  found, 
to  remove,  these  embarrassments,  to  procure  money.  In  the 
way  of  tyrannical  force,  all  that  could  be  done  or  thought  of 

*  The  disaster  is  painted  with  a  great  deal  of  energy  in  a  letter  from 
HoUis  to  sir  Thomas  Wentworth,  of  the  19th  of  November,  1627. 
Strafford's  Letters  and  Despatches  (London,  1739),  i.,  44. 


had  been  exhausted.  Sir  Robert  Cotton,  as  the  mildest  of* 
the  popular  party,  was  called  in  to  council  the  king.  He 
spoke  with  wisdom  and  frankness,  insisted  on  the  just  griev- 
ances of  the  nation,  on  the  necessity  of  redressing  them  in 
order  to  obtain  its  support,  and  recalled  the  words  of  Lord 
Burleigh  to  queen  Elizabeth  :  '^  Win  their  hearts,  and  you 
may  have  their  hands  and  purses."*  He  advised  the  calling 
a  fresh  parliament,  and  to  reconcile  the  duke  of  Buckingham 
with  the  public,  it  was  agreed,  that  in  the  council  where  this 
resolution  should  be  officially  adopted,  its  proposition  should 
proceed  from  him.  The  king  acceded  to  sir  Hobert's  sug- 
gestion. 

The  prisons  were  thrown  open  ;t  men  who  had  been  cast 
into  them  for  their  resistance  to  tyranny  were  suddenly  re- 
leased— insulted  yesterday,  powerful  to-day.  The  public 
received  them  with  transport;  twenty-seven  of  them  were 
elected.  Parliament  met  (March  17,  1628).  "  Every  man,"^ 
said  the  king,  at  the  opening  of  the  session,  "  must  now  do  ac- 
cording to  his  conscience,  wherefore  if  you  (which  God  forbid) 
should  not  do  your  duties  in  contributing  what  the  state  at  this 
time  needs,  I  must,  in  discharge  of  my  conscience,  use  those 
other  means,  which  God  hath  put  into  my  hands,  to  save  that 
which  the  follies  of  some  particular  men  may  otherwise  hazard 
to  lose.  Take  not  this  as  a  threatening  (for  I  scorn  to  threaten 
any  but  my  equals),  but  an  admonition  from  him  that,  both 
out  of  nature  and  duty,  hath  most  care  of  your  preservation 
^nd  prosperities.":!:  The  lord-keeper  speaking  after  the  king, 
added  :  "  This  mode  (of  supply),  as  his  majesty  hath  told  you, 
he  hath  chosen,  not  as  the  only  way,  but  as  the  fittest ;  not  as 
destitute  of  others,  but  as  most  agreeable  to  the  goodness  of  his 
own  most  gracious  disposition,  and  to  the  desire  and  weal  of 
his  people.  If  this  be  deferred,  necessity  and  the  sword  of  the 
enemy  will  make  way  to  the  others.  Remember  his  majesty's 
admonition  ;  I  say,  remember  it."§ 

Thus  Charles  sought  by  his  language  to  disguise  his  situa- 
tion :  a  haughty  solicitor,  sinking  under  the  weight  of  his  faults 
fend  failures,  he  made  a  threatening  display  of  independent 

*  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  212. 

t  Seventy-eight  prisoners  were  at  that  time  released.     Rushworth, 
i.,473. 

X  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  218.  §  lb.  221. 


46 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


47 


majesty,  absolute,  superior  to  all  faults,  all  reverses,  a  He  was 
SO  infatuated  with  this  idea,  that  it  never  entered  into  his  con- 
ception, that  his  state  was  liable  to  injury  ;  and  full  of  genuine 
pride,  he  thought  it  due  to  his  honor,  to  his  rank,  to  reserve  to 
himself  the  rights,  and  not  to  depart  from  the  language  of 
tyranny,  even  while  appealing  for  the  aid  of  liberty^ 

nhhe  commons  were  not  at  all  disturbed  at  his  threats ; 
thoughts  no  less  proud,  no  less  inflexible  than  his  own,  filled 
their  soulsj  They  were  resolved  solemnly  to  proclaim  their 
liberties,  to  compel  power  to  acknowledge  them  original  and 
independent,  no  longer  to  suffer  that  any  right  should  pass  for 
a  concession,  any  abuse  for  a  right.  Neither  leaders  nor 
soldiers  were  wanting  for  this  great  design.  The  whole  nation 
pressed  round  the  parliament.  Within  its  walls,  talented  and 
daring  men  advised  together  for  the  national  good.  Sir  Ed- 
ward Coke,  the  glory  of  the  Bench,  no  less  illustrious  for  his 
firmness  than  for  his  learning*  sir  Thomas  Wentworth,t 
afterwards  earl  of  Strafford,  young,  ardent,  eloquent,  born  to 
command,  and  whose  ambition  was  then  satisfied  with  the  ad- 
miration of  his  country  ;  Denzil  HoUis,:!:  the  younger  son  ot 
lord  Clare,  companion  in  childhood  of  Charles,  but  the  sincere 
friend  of  liberty,  and  too  proud  to  serve  under  a  favorite  ;  Pym, 
a  learned  lawyer,  especially  versed  in  the  knowledge  of  the 
rights  and  customs  of  parliament,^  a  cool  and  daring  man,  of 
a  character  fitted  to  act  as  the  cautious  leader  of  popular  pas- 
sions, with  many  others,  destined  at  a  future  period,  of  which 
none  of  them  had  the  slightest  idea,  for  such  various  fortunes, 
to  be  the  adherents  of  such  utterly  opposed  parties,  yet  now 
united  by  common  principles  and  com.mon  aspirations.  To  this 
formidable  coalition  the  court  could  only  oppose  the  power  of 
habit,  the  capricious  temerity  of  Buckingham,  and  the  haughty 
obstinacy  of  the  king. 

r  The  first  intercourse  of  the  prince  and  the  parliament  was 
friendly.  Notwithstanding  his  menacing  attitude,  Charles  felt 
that  he  must  give  way  ;  and,  while  determined  to  regain  all 
their  rights,  the  commons  had  the  full  intention  of  showing 
their  devotedness  to  him.     Charles  was  not  offended  by  their 

*  Born  at  Mileham,  Norfolk,  1549  ;  he  was  then  78  years  of  age. 
t  Born  in  London,  April  13,  1593;  he  was  then  35  years  of  age. 
X  Born  in  1597,  at  Houghton,  Nottinghamshire;  he  was  then  31 

years  old.  * 

§  Born  in  1584,  in  Somersetshire ;  he  was  then  44  years  old. 


freedom  of  speech  ;  and  the  speeches  were  as  loyal  as  they- 
were  free.  \  "  I  humbly  beseech  this  house,"  said  sir  B.  Rud- 
yard*  (March  22),  "  to  be  curiously  wary  and  careful  to  avoid 
all  manner  of  contestation,  personal  or  real.  The  hearts  of 
kings  are  great,  as  are  their  fortunes ;  then  are  they  fitted  to 
yield  when  they  are  yielded  unto.  Itjs  comely  and  mannerly 
that  princes,  in  all  fair  appearance,  should  have  the  better  of 
their  subjects.  Let  us  give  the  king  a  way  to  come  off  like 
himself;  for  I  do  verily  believe,  that  he  doth  with  longing  ex- 
pect the  occasion.  The  way  to  show  we  are  the  wise  coun- 
cillors we  should  be,  is  to  take  a  right  course  to  attain  the  end 
of  our  councils,  which,  in  my  opinion,  may  by  this  means  be 
compassed ;  by  trusting  the  king,  thereby  to  breed  a  trust  in 
him  towards  us."  All  were  not  equally  animated  by  these 
peaceful  ideas ;  there  were  some  sterner  minds,  which  antici- 
pated less  fearful  evils  from  a  fresh  rupture,  and  better  appre- 
ciated the  incurable  nature  of  absolute  power.  All,  however, 
showed  themselves  animated  with  the  same  wishes ;  and  the 
house,  taking  into  consideration,  on  equal  terms,  the  grievances 
of  the  people  and  the  wants  of  the  throne,  after  a  fortnight's 
session,  unanimously  voted  (April  14)  a  considerable  subsidy, 
but  without  passing  the  vote  into  a  law. 

Charles's  joy  was  extreme ;  he  forthwith .  assernbjed  the 
council,  and  informing  it  of  the  vote  of  the  house  : »"  I  liked 
parliaments,  at  first,"  said  he,  "  yet  since,  I  know  not  how,  I 
have  grown  to  a  distaste  of  them ;  but  now  I  am  where  I  was 
before-;  I  love  them,  and  shall  rejoice  to  meet  with  my  people 
often.  This  day  I  have  gained  more  reputation  in  Christen- 
dom than  if  I  had  won  many  battles.'^  Thesame  joy  was 
displayed  by  the  council ;  Buckingham  thought  he  must,  as 
well  as  Charles,  emphatically  express  his  gratification;  he 
felicitated  the  king  on  so  happy  a  concord  with  Parliament. 
"  This,"  said  he,  "is  not  a  gift  of  five  subsidies  alone,  but  the 
opening  of  a  mine  of  subsidies,  that  lieth  in  their  hearts.  And 
now  to  open  my  heart  and  to  ease  my  grief,  please  you  to  par- 
don me  a  word  more  nTmust  confess  I  have  long  lived  in  pain  ; 
sleep  hath  given  me  no  rest — favors,  fortunes  no  content,  such 
have  been  my  secret  sorrows,  to  be  thought  the  man  of  sepa- 
ration, that  divided  the  king  from  his  people,  and  them  from 


*  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  235. 


.  'v  i 


J.i' 


I 


■J' 


10 


48 


HISTORY  OF    THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


49 


him  j  but  I  hope  it  ^all  appear  they  were  some  mistaken 
minds  that  would  have  made  me  the  evil  spirit  that  walketh 
between  a  good  master  and  loyal  people,  by  ill  offices;  where- 
as, by  your  majesty's  favor,  I  shall  ever  endeavor  to  prove 
myself  a  good  spirit,  breathing  nothing  but  the  best  services  to 

them  all."*J 

The  secretary  of  state,  Cooke,  reported  (April  7)  to  the  house 
the  kind's  satisfaction,  and  the  favor  that  in  all  things  he  was 
ready  to  show  to  parliament.  The  commons  congratulated 
themselves  on  this  ;  but  Cooke,  with  the  short-sighted  meanness 
of  a  courtier,  also  spoke  of  the  duke  of  Buckingham,  and  his 
speech  in  the  council :  the  house  was  offended.  "  Is  it  that  any  ^ 
man,"  said  sir  John  Eliot,  "  conceives  the  mention  of  others,  of 
what  quality  soever,  can  add  encouragement  or  affection  to  us 
in  our  duties  and  loyalties  towards  his  Majesty,  or  give  them 
greater  latitude  or  extent  than  naturally  they  have  ;  or  is  it  to 
be  supposed  that  the  power  or  interest  of  any  man  can  add 
more  readiness  to  his  majesty  than  this  gracious  inclination 
towards  us  gives  him  ?  I  cannot  believe  it.  I  shall  readily 
commend,  nay,  thank  that  man,  whose  endeavors  are  applied 
to  such  offices  as  may  be  advantageable  for  the  public ;  yet, 
in  this  manner,  so  contrary  to  the  customs  of  our  fathers,  and 
the  honor  of  our  times,  as  I  cannot  without  scandal,  apprehend 
it,  so  I  cannot,  without  some  character  of  exception,  pass  it ; 
and  therefore  I  desire  that  such  interposition  may  be  let  alone. 
Now  let  us  proceed  to  those  services  that  concern  him,  which, 
I  doubt  not,  in  the  end,  will  render  us  so  real  unto  him,  that 
we  shall  need  no  other  help  to  endear  us  to  his  favor. "f  . 

This  just  pride  appeared  to  Charles  insolence,  to  Bucking- 
ham a  clear  symptom  of  new  perils  ;  but  neither  the  one  nor 
the  other  said  anything  on  the  subject,  and  the  house  pursued 
its  work 

^t  had  entered  into  a  conference  with  the  upper  house  to  de- 
termine in  concert  the  just  rights  of  subjects,  and-  to  claim  a 
new  and  solemn  sanction  of  them  from  the  princj  (April  3). 
(Charles,  informed  of  the  designs  which  the  commissioners  of 
the  commons  manifested  in  these  conferences,  took  great  um- 
bragci  He  had  the  house  exhorted  to  hasten  the-  definitive 
vote  m  the  subsidies,  and  his  minister  addedif  (April  12),  "  1 


•  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  274. 


t  lb.,  275. 


X  lb.,  278. 


must  with  some  grief  tell  you,  that  notice  is  taken,  as  if  this" 
house  press,  not  only  upon  the  abuses  of  power,  but  upon  power 
itself:  this  toucheth  the  king,  and  us  who  are  supported  by 
that  power.  Let  the  king  hear  of  any  abuses  of  power,  he 
will  willingly  hear  us ;  and  let  us  not  bend  ourselves  against 
the  extension  of  his  royal  power,  but  contain  ourselves  within 
those  bounds,  that  we  meddle  only  with  pressures  and  abuses 
of  power,  and  we  shall  have  the  best  satisfaction  that  ever 
king  gave.^jj 

On  their  part,  the  peers,  servile  or  timid,  persuaded  the 
commons  to  content  themselves  with  requiring  from  the  king 
,  a  declaration,  to  the  effect,  that  the  great  charter,  with  the 
statutes  confirming  it,  were  in  full  force,  that  the  liberties  of 
the  English  people  also  were  in  force,  as  in  times  past,  and 
that  the  king  would  make  use  of  the  prerogatives  inherent  in 
his  sovereign  power,  only  for  the  benefit  of  his  subjects 
(April  23).* 

\The  king  assembled  both  houses  in  a  solemn  sitting,  de- 
clared that  he  regarded  the  great  charter  as  inviolate,  the 
ancient  statutes  as  inviolable,  and  called  upon  them  to  rely, 
for  the  maintenance  of  their  rights,  on  his  royal  word,  in  which, 
he  said,  they  would  find  more  security  than  any  new  law 
could  give  them  (April  28). f     \ 

The  commons  did  not  allowthemselves  to  be  either  intimi- 
dated or  seduced  :  the  recent  abuses  had  braved  the  power, 
altogether  surpassing  the  foresight  of  the  old  laws ;  there 
must  be  new,  explicit  guarantees,  invested  with  the  sanction 
of  the  whole  parliament.  It  was  doing  nothing  to  have 
vaguely  renewed  promises,  so  often  broken,  statutes  so  long 
forgotten.  Without  wasting  many  words  about  the  matter, 
respectful,  but  inflexible,  the  house  drew  up  the  famous  bill, 
known  under  the  name  of  the  *  Petition  of  Rights,*  adopted 
it,  and  transmitted  it  to  the  upper  house  for  its  assent 
(May  8). 

The  lords  had  nothing  to  say  against  a  bill  which  conse- 
crated acknowledged  liberties,  or  repressed  abuses  universally 
condemned.  But  the  king  returned  to  the  charge,  again  de- 
manding that  they  should  rely  on  his  word,  and  offering  to 
confirm,  by  a  new  bill,  the  great  charter  and  the  ancient 


•  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  329. 

5 


t  lb.,  332..      \ 


ills  1 


I 


50 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


Statutes;  addressing  advice  upon  advice  to  the  peers,  to  the 
commons  message  upon  message;  deeply  irritated,  but  cautious 
and  mild  in  his  speech,  proclaiming  his  firm  resolution  neither 
to  suffer  any  restriction  in  any  of  his  rights,  nor  to  abuse 
those  which  he  enjoyed. 

The  perplexity  of  the  peers  was  great.  How  secure  the 
liberties  of  the  people,  without  depriving  the  king  of  absolute 
power?  for  such  was  the  question.  They  tried  an  amend- 
ment :  the  bill  was  adopted  with  this  addition :  "  We  humbly 
present  this  petition  to  your  majesty,  not  only  with  a  care  ot 
preserving  our  own  liberties,  but  with  due  regard  to  leave 
entire  that  sovereign  power  wherewith  your  majesty  is  trusted 
for  the  protection,  safety,  and  happiness  of  your  people 

(May  17).*  ^     , 

When  the  bill  thus  amended  came  back  to  the  commons  : 
"  Let  us  look  unto  the  records,"  said  Mr.  Alford,  "  and  see 
what  they  are  :  what  is  *  sovereign  power  V  Bodin  saith,  that 
it  is  free  from  any  conditions.  By  this  we  shall  acknowledge 
a  regal  as  well  as  a  legal  power ;  let  us  give  that  to  the  king 
the  law  gives  him,  and  no  more."  "  I  am  not  able,  said  Pym, 
"  to  speak  to  this  question,  for  I  know  not  what  it  is.  All  our 
petition  is  for  the  laws  of  England  ;  and  this  power  seems  to  be 
another  distinct  power  from  the  power  of  the  law.  I  know 
how  to  add  '  sovereign '  to  the  king's  person,  but  not  to^  his 
power ;  and  we  cannot  leave  to  him  a  '  sovereign  power,  lor 
we  never  were  possessed  of  it."  *'  If  we  do  admit  of  this 
addition,"  said  Sir  Thomas  Wentworth,  "  we  shall  leave  the 
subject  worse  than  we  found  him.  Our  law^  are  not  ac- 
qainted  with  *  sovereign  power'  "  (May  17).t 

The  commons  kept  their  ground  ;  the  public  became  more 
and  more  pressing  ;  the  peers,  not  bold  enough  to  demand 
liberty  openly,  were  not  bold  enough  either  to  sanction 
tyranny.  They  withdrew  their  amendment  out'  of  regard 
for  them  ;  an  'unmeaning  phrase  was  substituted  for  it,  and 
the  petition  of  rights,  adopted  by  both  houses,  was  solemnly 
presented  to  the  king,  who,  conquered  himself,  at  last  promised 

to  receive  it  (May  28).  •       x  i      j-j       ♦ 

His  answer  (June  2)  was  vague,  evasive  ;$  he  did  not 
sanction  the  bill,  and  only  repeated  what  the  house  had  re- 
fused  to  be  content  with. 


♦  Pari.  Hist.,  ii..  355. 


t  lb. 


t  lb.,  374. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


51 


Victory  seemed  gliding  away  from  the  commons ;  on  meet- 
ing next  day,  they  renewed  the  attack  (June  3).*  Sir  John 
Eliot  passionately  recapitulated  all  the  national  grievances ;  the 
usher  had  orders  to  remain  at  the  door,  to  see  that  no  member 
went  out,  under  pain  of  being  sent  to  the  Tower.  It  wets  re- 
solved that  a  general  remonstrance  should  be  presented  to  the 
king  ;  the  committee  of  subsidies  was  charged  with  the  draw- 
ing it  up. 

At  this  point,  fear  came  over  some  of  the  members,  that 
legitimate  fear  which  arises  at  the  prospect  of  mighty  convul- 
sion, and  without  asking  who  is  in  the  right,  or  what  is  to  be 
done,  calls  out  to  pause,  when  its  party  begins  to  rush  forward 
with  what  it  deems  precipitate  passion.  Sir  John  Eliot  was 
charged  with  being  actuated  by  personal  enmity  ;  sir  Thomas 
Wentworth,  with  imprudence ;  sir  Edward  Coke,  they  said, 
had  always  been  obstinate  and  intractable.^  The  king  thought 
this  state  of  things  might  give  him  a  respite,  if  not  the  means 
of  fully  recovering  his  ground.  He  forbade  the  house  hence- 
forth to  meddle  with  affairs  of  state  (June  5).:]: 

The  whole  house  was  in  a  consternation ;  this  was  too 
much,  an  insult  in  the  opinion  of  even  the  most  moderate. 
All  were  silent :  "  Our  sins  are  so  exceeding  great,"  at 
length  said  sir  John  Eliot,  "  that  unless  we  speedily 
turn  to  God,  God  will  remove  himself  further  from  us ;  ye 
know  with  what  affection  and  integrity  we  have  proceeded 
hitherto  to  have  gained  his  majesty's  heart !  I  doubt  a  mis- 
representation to  his  majesty  hath  drawn  this  mark  of  his 
displeasure  upon  us.  It  is  said  also,  as  if  we  cast  some  asper- 
sions on  his  majesty's  ministers  ;  I  am  confident  no  minister, 
how  dear  soever,  can — 


>) 


At  these  words,  the  speaker  suddenly  rose  from  his  chair, 
and  said,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  "  There  is  a  command  laid 
upon  me  to  interrupt  any  that  should  go  about  to  lay  an 
aspersion  on  the  ministers  of  state."  Upon  this  sir  John  sat 
down. 

Sir  Dudley  Digges  said,  "  Unless  we  may  speak  of  these 
things  in  parliament,  let  us  arise  and  be  gone,  or  stit  still  and 
do  nothing."  Hereupon  there  was  a  deep  silence  in  the  house, 
which  was  broken  by 


♦Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  380. 


t  lb.,  385. 


X  lb.,  401. 


*■  . 


i*: 


II! 


A 

Ml 


::hll! 


I'l 


i 


i 


52 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


53 


Sir  Nathaniel  Rich;  "  We  must  now  speak,  or  for  ever 
hold  our  peace,"  said  he  ;  "  for  us  to  be  silent  when  king  and 
kingdom  are  in  this  calamity  is  not  fit.  The  question  is, 
shall  we  secure  ourselves  by  silence  ;  yea  or  nay  ?  I  know  it 
is  more  for  our  own  security,  but  it  is  not  for  the  security  of 
those  whom  we  serve.  Let  us  think  on  them :  some  instru- 
ments desire  a  change ;  we  fear  his  majesty's  safety  and  the 
safety  of  the  kingdom.  Shall  we  sit  still  and  do  nothing, 
and  so  be  scattered.  Let  us  go  to  the  lords  and  show  our 
dangers,  that  we  may  then  go  to  the  king  together,  with  our 
representations  thereof." 

Suddenly  the  house  passed  from  stupor  to  rage.  All 
the  members  rose,  all  spoke  at  once,  amidst  utter  confusion. 
"  The  king,"  said  Mr.  Kirton,  "  is  as  good  a  prince  as  ever 
reigned;  it  is  the  enemies  to  the  commonwealth  that  have 
so  prevailed  with  him ;  therefore  let  us  aim  now  to  discover 
them ;  and  I  doubt  not  but  God  will  send  us  hearts,  hands, 
and  swords,  to  cut  all  his  and  our  enemies'  throats." — "  It  is 
not  the  king,"  answered  old  Coke,  "  but  the  duke  (a  great 
cry  of,  "  'Tis  he,  'tis  he  ! "  was  shouted  on  all  sides)  that 
saith,  '  We  require  you  not  to  meddle  with  state  government, 
or  the  ministers  thereof.'  "*  The  speaker  had  left  his  chair ; 
disorder  increased,  and  no  one  attempted  to  calm  it,  for  the 
most  prudent  men  had  nothing  to  say ;  anger  is  sometimes 
legitimate,  even  in  the  eyes  of  those  who  never  get  into  a 
passion  themselves. 

While  the  house,  a  prey  to  this  tumult,  was  meditating 
the  most  violent  resolutions,  the  speaker  went  out  secretly, 
and  hastened  to  inform  the  king  of  his  imminent  peril. f 
Fear  passed  from  the  house  to  the  court.  The  next  day  a 
milder  message  was  sent,  in  explanation  of  the  one  which  had 
caused  such  irritation  4  but  words  were  not  enough.  The 
commons  remained  much  agitated ;  they  discussed  the  sub- 
ject of  the  German  troops,  already  levied  by  Buckingham, 
and  who  were  shortly  to  disembark ;  one  member  affirmed 
that,  the  evening  before,  twelve  German  officers  had  arrived 
in  London,  and  that  two  English  vessels  had  received  orders 
to  bring  over  the  soldiers.^  The  subsidies  were  still  in 
suspense.     Charles  and  his  favorite  feared  longer  to  brave 

•  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  403.  t  lb.  %  lb.,  406.  §  lb.,  408. 


an  opposition  daily  more  powerful.  They  made  no  doubt- 
that  the  full  sanction  of  the  petition  of  rights  would  suffice  to 
calm  everything.  The  king  went  to  the  house  of  lords, 
where  the  commons  were  also  assembled  (7  June).  They 
had  been  mistaken,  he  said,  in  supposing  that  in  his  first 
answer  there  was  any  by-view,  and  he  was  ready  to  give  one 
that  would  dissipate  all  suspicion.  The  petition  was  read 
anew,  and  Charles  answered  by  the  usual  form — "  Soit  fait 
droit  comme  il  est  desire." 

The  commons  returned  triumphant  ;  they  had  at  last 
achieved  the  solemn  acknowledgment  of  the  liberties  of  the 
English  people.  To  this  all  publicity  must  be  given  ;  it 
was  resolved  that  the  petition  of  rights,  printed  with  the 
king's  last  answer,  should  be  diffused  all  over  the  country, 
and  enrolled,  not  only  in  both  houses,  but  also  in  the  courts 
of  Westminster.  The  bill  of  subsidies  was  definitively 
adopted.  Charles  thought  his  trials  were  over :  "  I  have  done 
my  part,"  said  he  ;  "  wherefore  if  this  parliament  hath  not  a 
happy  conclusion,  the  sin  is  yours  ;  I  am  free  of  it."* 

But  an  old  evil  is  not  so  soon  cured,  and  the  ambition  of 
an  irritated  nation  is  not  appeased  with  a  first  success.  The 
passing  of  the  bill  of  rights  was  evidently  not  sufficient.  The 
reform  of  principles  only  was  accomplished  ;  this  was  nothing 
without  reform  in  practice  ;  and  to  secure  this,  there  must  be 
a  reform  of  the  king's  council.  Now  Buckingham  still  kept 
his  position,  and  the  king  continued  to  levy  the  customs  duties 
without  the  sanction  of  parliament.  Enlightened  by  experi- 
ence as  to  the  danger  of  delay,  blinded  by  passion  as  to  that 
of  too  abrupt  and  too  harsh  demands,  pride  and  hatred  com- 
bining with  the  instinct  of  necessity,  the  commons  resolved  to 
deal  without  delay  the  last  blows.  In  a  week  two  new  re- 
monstrances were  drawn  up,  one  against  the  duke,  the  other 
to  establish  that  tonnage  and  poundage,  like  other  taxes,  might 
only  be  levied  by  law  (13  and  21  June).f 

The  king  lost  all  patience,  and,  resolved  to  give  himself  at 
least  some  respite,  he  went  to  the  house  of  lords,  had  the  com- 
mons summoned,  and  prorogued  the  parliament  (June  26). 

Two  months  afterwards,  the  duke  of  Buckingham  was 
murdered  (Aug.  23).     Sewn  up  in  the  hat  of  Felton,  his  as- 


♦Parl.  Hist.,  ii.,  409. 
5* 


fib.,  420,431. 


Il 


1 


tl- 


54 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


5& 


sassin,  was  found  a  paper,  in  which  the  last  remonstrance 
of  the  house  was  referred  to.*  Felton  did  not  fly,  or 
defend  himself;  he  merely  said  that  he  regarded  the  duke  as 
the  enemy  of  the  kingdom,  shook  his  head  when  spoken  to 
about  accomplices,  and  died  with  composure,  confessing,  how- 
ever, that  he  had  done  wrong.f 

Charles  was  greatly  disturbed  at  the  murder,  and  indignant 
at  the  joy  which  the  multitude  manifested  at  it.  Upon  the 
close  of  the  session,  he  had  endeavored  to  gratify  the  public 
feeling,  by  restraining  the  preachers  of  passive  obedience,  and 
especially  by  severities  against  the  papists,  the  scape-goats  of 
every  reconciliation  between  the  prince  and  the  country. 
The  assassination  of  Buckingham,  in  which  the  people  saw 
their  deliverance,  threw  the  king  back  into  tyranny.  He  re- 
stored his  favor  to  the  adversaries  of  parliament :  Dr.  Mon- 
tague, whom  the  commons  had  prosecuted,  was  promoted  to 
the  bishopric  of  Chichester;  Dr.  Mainwaring,  whom  the 
house  of  lords  had  condemned,  received  a  rich  benefice; 
bishop  Laud,:|:  already  famous  for  passionate  devotion  to  the 
principle  of  high  power  in  king  and  church,  passed  to  the 
see  of  London.  The  king's  public  conduct  corresponded  with 
these  court  favors  :  tonnage  and  poundage  were  levied  with 
rigor ;  and  the  irregular  tribunals  continued  to  suspend  the 
course  of  law.  Returned  thus  noiselessly  to  the  path  of 
despotism,  Charles  had  now  somewhat  more  prospect  of  suc- 
cess than  before  :  he  had  detached  from  the  popular  party 
the  most  brilliant  of  its  leaders,  the  most  eloquent  of  its 
orators.  Sir  Thomas  Wentworth,  created  a  baron,  entered 
the  privy  council,  despite  the  reproaches,  nay,  the  threats,  of 
his  former  friends  :  "  I  shall  meet  you  in  Westminster  Hall," 
said  Pym  to  him,  bidding  him  adieu  at  their  last  friendly 
interview ;  but  Wentworth,  ambitious  and  haughty,  dashed 
passionately  on  towards  greatness,  far  from  foreseeing  how 
odious,  how  fatal,  he  would  one  day  be  to  liberty.  Other  de- 
fections followed  his;§  and  Charles,  surrounded  with  new 
councillors,  more  staid,  more  able,  less  decried  than  Buck- 
ingham, saw  without  apprehension  the  approach  of  the  second 
session  of  parliament  (20  Jan.,  1629). 

•Appendix  No.  II.         t  Clarendon,  i.,  53  ;  State  Trials,  iii.,  371. 
X  Born  at  Reading,  1573.     He  was  at  this  time  bishop  of  Bath  and 

Wells.  ,    .    ,    . 

§  Sir  Dudley  Digges,  Sir  Edw.  Lyttleton,  Noy,  Wandesford,  &c. 


The  commons  had  scarcely  assembled  before  they  proceed-, 
ed  to  ascertain  what  effect  had  been  given  to  the  bill  of  rights 
(21  Jan.).  They  learned  that  instead  of  the  king's  second 
answer,  it  was  the  first,  the  evasive  and  rejected  one,  which 
had  been  added  to  it.  Norton,  the  king's  printer,  owned  that 
the  very  day  after  the  prorogation,  he  had  received  orders 
thus  to  alter  the  legal  text,  and  to  suppress  all  the  copies 
which  contained  the  true  answer,  that  of  which  Charles  had 
boasted,  when  he  said,  "  I  have  done  my  part ;  I  am  free  of 

it." 

The  commons  sent  for  the  papers,  verified  the  fact  of  the 

alteration,  and  said  no  more  about  it,  as  if  ashamed  to  expose 
too  publicly  so  gross  a  violation  of  faith :  but  their  silence  did 
not  promise  oblivion.* 

All  the  attacks  were  renewed  against  the  toleration  of  pa- 
pists, the  favor  granted  to  false  doctrines,  the  depravation  of 
morals,  the  ill  distribution  of  dignities  and  employments,  the 
proceedings  of  the  irregular  courts,  the  contempt  of  the  liber- 
ties of  subjects."!"  J       •* 

So  great  was  the  excitement  of  the  house,  that  one  day  it 
listened  in  silence  and  with  favor  to  a  man  new  to  them,  badly 
dressed,  of  a  common  appearance,  who,  addressing  them  for 
the  first  time,  denounced,  in  furious  and  very  indifferent  lan- 
guage, the  indulgence  of  a  bishop  to  some  obscure  preacher, 
a  rank  papist,  as  he  called  him.     This  man  was  Oliver  Crom- 

wellj  (Feb.  11). 

Charles  essayed  in  vain  to  wrest  from  the  commons  the  con- 
cession  of  the  tonnage  and  poundage  duties,  the  only  object  for 
which  he  had  assembled  them.  He  employed  new  threats, 
new  persuasions,  admitting,  that  he  held  these  taxes,  like  all 
Others,  of  the  pure  gift  of  his  people,  and  that  to  parliament 
alone  it  belonged  to  establish  them,  but  insisted,  at  the  same 
time,  that  they  should  be  granted  him  for  the  whole  of  his 
reign,  as  they  had  been  to  most  of  his  predecessors. §  The 
commons  were  inflexible ;  this  was  the  only  weapon  of  de- 
fence  against  absolute  power  which  remained  to  them.  With 
one  excuse  after  another  they  persevered  in  delay,  and  daily 
set  forth  their  grievances,  but  without  any  exact  aim,  without 


♦Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  435. 

X  lb.,  464  :  Memoirs  of  Warwick,  247. 


fib.,  438,  466,  473. 
§  Pari.  Hist,,  ii.,  442. 


66 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


i 


h* 


W'i 


putting  forward,  as  in  the  preceding  session,  any  clear  and 
precise  propositions,  for  they  were  all  this  time  a  prey  to  vio- 
lent but  vague  agitations,  disturbed  with  the  sensation  of  an 
evil  they  knew  not  how  to  cure.  The  king  grew  impatient ; 
they  refused  his  demand  without  proffering  any  of  their  own, 
without  laying  any  application  before  him,  which  he  might 
reject  or  sanction  ;  it  had,  he  felt,  an  air  of  pure  malevolence, 
of  being  a  mere  plan  for  impeding  his  government.  Mention 
was  made  that  he  intended  to  prorogue  parliament.  Sir  John 
Eliot  at  once  (March  2)  proposed  a  new  remonstrance  against 
the  levying  of  the  duties  in  dispute.  The  speaker,  alleging 
an  order  from  the  king,  refused  to  put  the  motion  to  the  vote. 
The  house  insisted  :  he  left  the  chair.  HoUis,  Valentine,  and 
other  members,  forced  him  back  to  it,  despite  the  efforts  of  the 
court  party,  who  endeavored  to  rescue  him  from  their  hands. 
*'  God's  wounds,''  said  HoUis,  "  you  shall  sit  till  it  please  the 
house  to  rise."  "  I  will  not  say  I  will  not,"  cried  the  speaker, 
"  but  I  dare  not."  But  passion  was  now  without  curb  ;  they 
compelled  him  to  resume  his  seat.  The  king,,  informed  of  the 
tumult,  sent  orders  to  the  serjeant-at-arms  to  withdraw  with 
the  mace,  which,  by  custom,  would  suspend  all  deliberation : 
the  Serjeant  was  kept  in  his  chair  like  the  speaker,  the  keys 
of  the  hall  were  taken  from  him,  and  a  member,  sir  Miles 
Hobart,  took  charge  of  them.  The  king  sent  a  second  mes- 
senger to  announce  the  dissolution  of  parliament ;  he  found 
the  doors  locked  on  the  inside,  and  could  not  gain  admittance. 
Charles,  in  a  paroxysm  of  fury,  sent  for  the  captain  of  his 
guards,  and  ordered  him  to  go  and  force  the  doors.  ButTln" 
the  interval,  the  commons  had  retired,  after  having  carried  a 
resolution  which  declared  the  levying  of  tonnage  and  pound- 
age illegal,  and  those  guilty  of  high  treason  who  should  levy 

or  even  pay  them.* 

All  accommodation  was  impossible  :  the  king  went  to  the 
house  of  lords,  10th  March.  "  I  never  came  here,"  said  he, 
"on  so  unpleasing  an  occasion,  it  being  for  the  dissolution  of 
parliament ;  the  disobedient  carriage  of  the  lower  house  had 
alone  caused  this  dissolution.  Yet  they  would  mistake  me 
wonderfully  that  think  I  lay  the  fault  equally  upon  all  the 
lower  house  ;  for,  as  I  know,  there  are  many  as  dutiful  and 

•  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  487—491. 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


67 


loyal  subjects  as  any  are  in  the  world,  so  I  know  it  is  only 
some  vipers  amongst  them  that  have  cast  this  mist  of  dif- 
ference before  their  eyes.  As  those  evil  affected  persons  must 
look  for  their  reward,  so  you  that  are  here  of  the  higher 
house,  may  justly  claim  from  me  that  protection  and  favor 
that  a  good  king  oweth  to  his  loyal  and  faithful  nobility."* 
The  dissolution  was  pronounced.  Immediately  afterwards, 
appeared  a  proclamation,  setting  forth  :  "  That  whereas,  for 
several  ill  ends,  the  calling  again  of  a  parliament  is  divulged, 
howsoever  his  majesty  hath  showed,  by  his  frequent  meeting 
with  his  people,  his  love  to  the  use  of  parliaments ;  yet  this 
late  abuse  having,  for  the  present,  driven  his  majesty  unwil- 
lingly out  of  that  course,  it  will  be  considered  presumption  for 
any  one  to  prescribe  to  him  any  time  for  the  calling  of  that 
assembly,  "f 

Charles  kept  his  word,  and  now  only  occupied  himself  with 
the  project  of  governing  alone. 


*  Pari.  Hist,  492. 


t  Ibid.,  525. 


58 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


59 


BOOK  THE  SECOND. 
1629—1640. 

Intentions  of  the  king  and  his  council — Prosecution  of  the  leading 
members  of  Parliament— Apparent  apathy  of  the  country— Struggle 
of  the  ministry  and  court — The  queen — Strafford — Laud — -Want 
of  cohesion  in,  and  discredit  of  government — Civil  and  religious 
tyranny — Its  effects  on  the  different  classes  of  the  nation — Trial  of 
Prynne,  Burton,  and  Bastw^ick— Of  Hampden — Insurrection  of  Scot- 
land— First  war  with  the  Scots — Peace  of  Berv^ick — Short  parlia- 
ment of  1640 — Second  war  vfith  Scotland — Its  bad  success — Convo- 
cation of  the  long  parliament. 

Nothing  is  so  dangerous  as  to  take  a  system  of  government 
as  it  were  on  trial,  with  the  idea  that  one  may  at  any  time 
resort  to  another.  Charles  had  committed  this  fault.  He 
had  attempted  to  govern  in  concert  with  the  parliament ;  but 
"vyith  the  full  persuasion,  however,  as  he  frequently  intimated, 
that  if  parliament  was  too  troublesome  he  should  be  able  to 
do  perfectly  well  without  it.  He  entered  upon  the  career  of 
despotism  with  the  same  heedlessness,  proclaiming  his  inten- 
tion to  adhere  to  it,  but  fully  believing  that,  after  all,  if  neces- 
sity became  too  strong  for  him,  he  could  at  any  time  have 
recourse  to  parliament. 

His  most  able  councillors  were  of  the  same  opinion.  Neither 
Charles  nor  any  about  him  had,  at  this  time,  conceived  the 
design  of  abolishing  for  ever  the  ancient  laws  of  England, 
the  great  national  council.  Short-sighted  rather  than  enter- 
prising, insolent  rather  than  absolutely  ill-intentioned,  Iheir 
words,  and  even  their  acts,  were  more  daring  than  their 
thoughts.  The  king,  they  said,  had  shown  himself  just  and 
kind  towards  his  people ;  he  had  yielded  a  great  deal,  granted 
a  great  deal.  But  nothing  would  satisfy  the  commons  ;  they 
required  the  king  to  become  their  dependent,  their  ward ;  this 
he  could  not  do,  without  ceasing  to  be  king.  When  the  prince 
and  parliament  could  not  manage  to  agree,  it  was  for  the  par- 
liament to  give  way ;  for  the  prince  alone  was  sovereign. 


Since  the  commons  would  not  give  way,  he  must  perforce 
govern  without  them  ;  the  necessity  was  evident ;  sooner  or 
later  the  people  would  understand  this,  and  then,  parliament 
having  become  wiser,  there  would  be  nothing  to  prevent  the 
king's  recalling  it,  in  case  of  need. 

With  still  less  foresight  than  the  council,  the  court  only 
saw  in  the  dissolution  a  deliverance  from  difficulty.  While 
the  house  of  commons  was  sitting,  the  courtiers  were  by  no 
means  at  ease ;  none  of  them  dared  to  push  boldly  their  for- 
tune, nor  enjoy  their  credit  freely.  The  embarrassments  of 
power  impeded  the  intrigues,  and  spread  a  gloom  over 
the  festivities  of  Whitehall.  The  king  was  thoughtful,  the 
queen  intimidated.  Parliament  dissolved,  this  uneasiness  and 
restraint  disappeared  ;  frivolous  grandeur  reassumed  its  bril- 
liancy, and  private  ambition  its  full  swing.  The  court  asked 
for  nothing  beyond  this ;  and  troubled  itself  in  no  degree  to 
inquire  whether,  in  the  prosecution  of  its  immediate  object, 
it  was  not  aiding  to  bring  about  a  change  in  the  government 
of  the  country. 

Thejifiople  judged  otherwise :  the  dissolution  was,  in  their 
eyes,  a  sure  symptom  of  a  deep-laid  scheme,  of  a  resolution 
to  destroy  parliaments.  The  commons  had  no  sooner  sepa- 
rated, than,  at  Hampton  Court,  Whitehall,  wherever  the 
court  assembled,  the  papists,  secret  or  avowed,  the  preachers 
and  adherents  of  absolute  power,  the  men  of  intrigue  and 
pleasure,  indifferent  to  all  creeds,  congratulated  one  another 
on  their  triumph  ;  whilst  in  the  Tower,  and  the  principal 
gaols  of  London  and  the  provinces,  the  defenders  of  the  pub- 
lic rights,  treated  at  once  .>vith  contempt  and  rigor,  were  under- 
going  imprisonment,  were  under  impeachment  for  what  they 
had  said  or  done  in  the  inviolable  sanctuary  of  parliament.* 
They  claimed  their  privileges,  they  demanded  to  be  discharged 
upon  bail,  and  the  judges  hesitated  what  to  answer,  but  the 
king  communicated  with  the  judgesf  (Sept.,  1629),  and  the 
application  of  the  prisoners  was  refused.  Their  courage  did 
not  fail  them  in  this  trial :  the  greater  number  refused  to  own 
themselves  guilty  of  any  wrong,  or  to  pay  the  fines  to  which 

♦  The  members  arrested  were,  Denzel  Holies,  Sir  Miles  Hobart,  Sir 
John  Eliot,  Sir  Peter  Hayman,  John  Selden,  William  Coriton,  Walter 
Long,  William  Stroud,  and  Benjamin  Valentine.— State  Trials,  iii.,  233. 

t  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  31S,  et  seq. 


h 


60 


HISTORY  OF   THE 


they  were  condemned.     They  preferred  remaining  in  prison. 
Sir  John  Eliot  was  destined  to  die  there. 

While  this  prosecution  was  going  on,  public  anger  continu- 
ally increased,  and  did  not  hesitate  openly  to  manifest  itself.  It 
was  a  sort  of  continuation  of  the  parliament,  vanquished  and 
dispersed,  but  still  struggling  before  the  judges  of  the  country, 
through  the  voice  of  its  leaders.  The  firmness  of  the  accused 
kept  up  the  ardor  of  the  people,  who  constantly  saw  them 
pass  and  repass  from  the  Tower  to  Westminster,  and  accom- 
panied them  with  their  acclamations  and  their  prayers.  The 
visible  anxiety  of  the  judges  afforded  some  expectation.  "  All 
is  lost !"  was  the  cry  ;  yet  still  the  public  continued  to  alter- 
nate between  hope  and  fear,  as  in  the  midst  of  the  battle. 

But  this  great  trial  ended.  Frightened  or  seduced,  some 
of  the  accused  paid  the  fine,  and,  ordered  to  live  at  least  ten 
miles  from  the  royal  residence,  retired  to  conceal  their  weak- 
ness in  their  respective  counties.  The  noble  steadfastness  of 
the  rest  was  buried  in  the  depth  of  their  dungeons.  The 
people,  who  saw  and  heard  no  more  of  them,  were  themselves 
no  longer  seen  nor  heard.  Power,  not  meeting  with  open 
opposition,  thought  the  day  all  its  own,  and  that  the  nation, 
from  which  it  had  estranged  itself,  was  prostrate  beyond  re- 
covery. Charles  hastened  to  conclude  peace  with  Frajce 
(April  11,  1629),  and  Spain  (Nov.  5,  1630),  and  found  him- 
self at  last  without  rivals  at  home,  without  enemies  abroad. 

For  some  time,  government  was  an  easy  matter  enough. 
The  citizens  for  awhile  took  heed  only  to  their  private  in- 
terests :  no  discussion,  no  warm  excitement  agitated  the 
gentry  in  their  county  meetings,  the  burghers  in  their  town- 
halls,  the  sailors  in  the  ports,  the  apprentices  in  their  shops. 
It  was  not  that  the  nation  was  languishing  in  apathy,  but  its 
activity  had  taken  another  direction  ;  it  seemed  to  have  for- 
gotten in  labor  the  defeat  of  liberty.  Less  ardent  than  haughty, 
the  despotism  of  Charles  interfered  with  it  very  slightly  in 
this  new  state  ;  the  prince  meditated  no  vast  designs,  he  had 
no  uneasy  desire  for  extended  and  hazardous  glory ;  he  was 
content  to  enjoy  with  dignity  his  power  and  his  rank.  Peace 
dispensed  him  from  exacting  from  his  subjects  heavy  sacri- 
fices ;  and  the  people  gave  itself  up  to  agriculture,  to  com- 
merce, to  study,  and  no  ambitious  and  restless  tyranny  inter- 
posed to  impede  its  efforts,  or  compromise  its  interests.     Public 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


\ 

61 


prosperity  accordingly  rapidly  advanced,  order  reigned,  and 
this  regular  and  flourishing  condition  gave  to  power  the  appear- 
ance of  wisdom,  to  the  country  that  of  resignation.* 

It  was  around  the  throne  and  among  its  servants  that  the 
troubles  of  government  recommenced.  As  soon  as  the 
struggle  between  the  king  and  the  people  appeared  at  an 
end,  two  parties  disputed  which  should  influence  the  reno- 
vated despotism ;  the  queen  and  the  ministry,  the  court  and 
the  council. 

On  her  arrival  in  England,  the  queen  had  not  disguised  the 
dulness  she  experienced  in  her  new  country.  Religion,  insti- 
tutions, customs,  language,  everything  displeased  her  ;  she  had 
even,  just  after  their  union,  treated  her  husband  with  puerile 
insolence,  and  Charles,  out  of  all  patience  with  her  passionate 
outbursts  of  humor,  found  himself,  on  one  occasion,  driven 
abruptly  to  send  back  to  the  continent  some  of  the  attendants 
whom  she  had  brought  over  with  her  (July,  1626).  The 
pleasure  of  reigning  could  alone  console  her  for  her  exile  from 
France  ;  and  she  reckoned  upon  the  full  enjoyment  of  this 
satisfaction  from  the  time  she  ceased  to  have  the  awe  of  par- 
liament before  her  eyes.  Agreeable  and  lively  in  her 
manners,  she  soon  acquired  over  a  young  king  of  highly  pure 
principles,  an  ascendency  which  he  admitted  with  a  sort  of 
gratitude,  sensibly  touched,  as  it  were,  by  her  consenting  to 
enjoy  herself  at  all  in  his  society.  But  the  happiness  of  a 
domestic  life,  dear  to  the  serious  mind  of  Charles,  could  not 
satisfy  the  frivolous,  restless,  and  hard  character  of  Henrietta 
Maria ;  she  wanted  an  acknowledged,  insolent  empire — an 
empire  of  display,  an  empire  which  should  be  cognizant  of  all 
things,  and  without  whose  permission  nothing  should  be  said  or 
done ;  she  wanted,  in  short,  power,  as  power  always  presents 
itself  to  the  mind  of  an  arrogant,  unthinking  woman.  Round 
her  rallied,  on  the  one  hand,  the  papists,  on  the  other,  the  frivo- 
lously ambitious,  the  petty  intriguers,  the  young  courtiers, 
who  had  early  gone  to  Paris  to  learn  the  secret  of  pleasing 
her.  All  these  professed  to  her  alone  to  look,  the  one  class 
for  fortune,  the  other  for  the  triumph,  or  at  all  events,  the 
deliverance  of  their  faith.  It  was  in  her  apartments  that  the 
leading  papists  at  home,  and  the  emissaries  of  Rome,  discussed 


if 


♦  Clarendon,  i.,  126. 


6 


62 


HISTORY    OF   THB 


their  most  secret  hopes ;  it  was  there  her  favorites  displayed 
the  notions,  manners,  and  fashions  of  the  continent.*  Every- 
thing there  was  foreign,  and  offensive  to  the  creed  and  customs 
of  the  country  ;  there  every  day  were  put  forward  projects 
and  pretensions  that  could  only  be  realized  by  illegal  measures 
or  abused  favors.  The  queen  took  part  in  these  intrigues, 
assured  the  plotters  of  success,  claimed  sanction  for  them  of 
the  king  ;  nay,  required  of  him  that,  in  order  to  honor  her,  as 
she  said,  in  the  eyes  of  the  people,  he  should  consult  her  on 
all  occasions,  and  do  nothing  without  her  consent.  If  the 
king  refused  her  wishes,  she  would  angrily  accuse  him,  that 
he  neither  loved  her  nor  knew  how  to  reign.  And  then 
Charles,  happy  to  find  her  solicitous  for  his  power,  or  as  to  his 
love,  had  no  other  thought  than  to  dissipate  her  grief  or  her 
anger. 

The  most  servile  councillors  would  scarcely  have  submitted 
without  resistance  to  this  capricious  sway.  Charles  had  two 
who  were  deficient  neither  in  mind  nor  spirit,  and  who,  though 
devoted  to  his  cause,  desired  to  serve  him  otherwise  than 
according  to  the  fancies  of  a  woman  or  the  pretensions  of  a 
court. 

In  forsaking  his  party  to  attach  himself  to  the  king,  Straf- 
fordf  had  not  been  called  upon  to  sacrifice  any  very  fixed 
principles,  or  basely  to  betray  his  conscience.  Ambitious  and 
ardent,  he  had  been  a  patriot  out  of  hatred  to  Buckingham, 
out  of  a  desire  for  glory,  to  display  in  full  lustre  his  talents 
and  his  energy  of  mind,  rather  than  from  any  righteous  or 
profound  conviction.  To  act,  to  rise,  to  govern,  was  his  aim, 
or  rather  the  necessity  of  his  nature.  Entering  the  service  of 
the  crown,  he  became  as  earnest  in  its  cause  as  he  theretofore 
had  been  in  that  of  liberty,  but  it  was  as  a  grave,  proud,  able, 
unbending  minister,  not  as  a  frivolous  and  obsequious  courtier. 
Of  a  mind  too  vast  to  shut  itself  up  in  the  paltry  circle  of 
domestic  intrigues,  of  a  pride  too  hotheaded  to  give  way  to 
court  forms  and  notions,  he  passionately  devoted  himself  to 
business,  braving  all  rivalry,  breaking  down  all  resistance ; 
eager  to  extend   and  strengthen  the    royal   authority,  now 

•  May's  History  of  the  Long  Parliament.  (London,  1647.)  Book  i., 
21. 

t  He  was  at  this  period  called  lord  Wentworth — not  being  created 
earl  of  Strafford  till  the  12th  of  January,  1640. 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


6d 


r. 


become  his  own,  but  diligent  at  the  same  time  to  re-establish  / 
order  and  repress  abuses,  to  put  down  private  interests  ^^  LCf}' 
judged  illegal,  and  promote  all  such  general  interests  as  he  f    A^ 
deemed  not  dangerous  to  royalty.     A  fiery  despot,  still  all , 
love  of  country,  Sll  desire  for  its  prosperity7ior~ils  glory,  was" 
Rorextinct  in  his  heart,  and  he  perfectly  comprehended'upoir 
what  conditions,  by  what   means,   absolute   power  must  be 
bought   over.      An    administration    arbitrary    but    powerful, 
consistent,  laborious,  holding  in  scorn  the  rights  of  the  people, 
but  occupying  itself  with  the  public  happiness,  despising  all 
petty  abuses,  all  minor  misgovemment,  making  subordinate  to 
its  will,  and  to  its  views,  the  great  equally  with  the  small,  the 
court  as  well  as  the  nation — ^this  was  his  aim,  this  the  character 
of  his  rule,  and  which  he  strove  to  impress  on  the  government 
of  the  king. 

The  friend  of  Straffordy-acphbi^liQlLL.'Wid,  with  less  worldly 
passions,  and  a  more  disinterested  ardor,  brought  into  the  /^ 
council  the  same  feelings,  the  same  designs.  Austere  in  his 
conduct,  simple  in  his  life,  power,  whether  he  served  it  or 
himself  wielded  it,  inspired  in  his  mind  a  fanatical  devotion. 
To  prescribe  and  to  punish,  this  was  in  his  eyes  to  establish^ 
order,  aii3~ord6¥~ever"^6emed  to  him  justice.  His  activity 
was  indefatigable,  ijTlt  narrow  in  its  views,  violent,  and  harsh. 
Alike  incapable  of  conciliating  opposing  interests,  and  of  re- 
specting rights,  he  rushed,  with  head  down  and  eyes  closed, 
at  once  against  liberties  and  abuses ;  opposing  to  the  latter 
his  rigid  probity,  to  the  former  his  furious  hate,  he  was  as 
abrupt  and  uncompromising  with  the  courtiers  as  with  the 
citizens ;  seeking  no  man's  friendship,  anticipating  and  able 
to  bear  no  resistance,  persuaded,  in  short,  that  power  is  all- 
sufficient  in  pure  hands  ;  and  constantly  the  prey  of  some 
fixed  idea,  which  ruled  him  with  all  the  violence  of  passion, 
and  all  the  authority  of  duty. 

Such  councillors  suited  the  new  situation  of  Charles. 
Standiflig^arLfrom  the  court,  they  were  less  anxious  to  please 
it>JhajvlQ.serye  their  mSst^r ;  aiid  had  neither  the  pompous., 
insolence,  nor  the  idle  pretensrons  _  of  the  TavoritesT  They 
wefeT  persevering,  iaborfdus,  bold,  capable,  devoted.  The 
government  of  Ireland  had  scarcely  passed  into  the  hands  of 
Strafford,  ere  that  kingdom,  which  had  till  then  been  only  a 
trouble  and  expense  to  the  crown,  became  a  source  of  riches 


.^>' 


/ 


ENGLISH   EEVOLUTION. 


65 


64 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


and  strength.     Its  public  debt  was  paid  ;  the  revenue,  previ- 
ously collected  without  system,  and  squandered  without  shame, 
was  regularly  administered,  and  soon  rose  above  the  expendi- 
ture ;  the  nobles  were  no  longer  allowed  to  oppress  the  people 
with  impunity,  or  the  aristocratic  and  religious  factions  to  tear 
each  other  to  pieces,  in  full   liberty,  as  theretofore.     The 
army,  which  Strafford  found  weak,  without  clothes,  without 
discipline,   was   recruited,  well   disciplined,  well  paid,  and 
ceased  to  pillage  the  inhabitants.     Favored  by  order,  com- 
merce flourished,  manufactories  were  established,  agriculture 
advanced.    In  short,  Ireland  was  governed  arbitrarily,  harshly, 
often  even  wltlTodlous  violence ;  but  yet,  to  the  interest^f 
geiieral  civilisation  and  royal  power,  instead  of  Igng^as-fiit- 
merty,  a  prey  to  the  greedy  extortion  of  revenue  officers,  high 
aM  tow,  and  to  the  domination  of  a  selfish  and  ignorant  aris- 
tocracy,* 
^  —Invested  in  England,  as  to  civil  affairs,  with  a  less  extended 
y^    and  less  concentrated  authority  than  that  of  Strafford  in  Ire- 
vF    )i     land,  and  less  able  than  his  friend,  Laud  did  not  fail  to  pursue 
hj\,f)^^     ^  the  same  line  of  conduct.     As  cpmrnissioner  of  the  treasury, 
'    ^    ^    he  not  only  repressed  all  pilleririgs  and  illegitirriate'expelidi- 
ture,  but  applied  himself  to  the  thorough  understanding  of  the 
various  branches  of  the  public  revenue,  ana  to  the  finding  out 
by  what  means  its  collection  could  be  rendered  less  onerous 
to  the  subject.     Vexatious  impediments,  grave  abuses,  had 
been  introduced  into  the  administration  of.  the  custom  duties, 
for  the  profit  of  private  interests  ;  Laud  listened  to  the  com- 
plaints and  representations  of  merchants,  employed  his  leisure 
in  conversing  with  them,  informed  himself  by  degrees  as  to 
the  general  interests  of  commerce,  and  freed  it  from  trammels 
which  had  materially  injured  it,  without  any  advantage  to  the 
exchequer.     In  March,  1636,  the  office  of  high  treasurer  was 
given,  on  his  recommendation,  to  Juxon,  bishop  of  London,  a 
laborious,  moderate-minded  man,  who  put  an  end  to  number- 
less disorders  which  had  alike  been  injurious  to  the  crown 
and  to  the  citizens.     To  serve,  as  he  fancied,  the  king  and  the 
church.  Laud  was  capable  of  oppressing  the  people,  of  giving 
the  most  iniquitous  advice  ;  but  where  neither  king  nor  church 
was  in  question,  he  aimed  at  good,  at  truth,  and  upheld  them 

•  See  Appendix,  III. 


without  fear  as  to  himself,  without  the  slightest  consideration 
for  other  interests. 

If,  on  the  one  hand,  this  administration,  upright,  diligent, 
but  arbitrary,  tyrannical,  on  occasions,  and  refusing  all  re- 
sponsioility,  was  too  little  for  the  country;  on  the  other,  it 
was  a  great  deal  too  much  for  the  court.  Favorites  may 
succeed  there ;  if  they  meet  with  enemies,  they  also  make 
partisans,  and  in  this  conflict  of  personal  interests  a  skilful 
intriguer  may  successfully  oppose  those  he  serves  to  those 
whom  he  offends.  Such  had  been  Buckingham.  But  who- 
ever would  govern,  whether  by  despotism  or  by  the  laws,  in 
the  general  interest  of  king  or  people,  must  lay  his  account 
to  have  the  hatred  of  all  the  courtiers  ;  and  accordingly  it  arose 
among  them  against  Strafford  and  Laud,  quite  as  intense,  and 
infinitely  more  manoeuvring,  than  among  the  people.  On 
Strafford's  first  appearance  at  Whitehall,  a  general  sneer 
curled  every  lip,  at  the  sudden  elevation  and  somewhat  un- 
polished manners  of  the  country  gentleman,  who  had  been 
more  especially  heard  of  as  a  parliamentary  opponent  of  the 
court.*  The  austere  manners,  the  theological  pedantry,  and 
the  bluntness  of  Laud,  were  equally  disliked  there.  Both 
these  men  were  haughty,  inattentive,  and  by  no  means  aflfable 
in  their  manners  ;  they  disdained  intrigues,  counselled  econo- 
my, and  talked  of  business  and  necessities  which  a  court  does 
not  like  to  liear  about.  ^I^iequeenjjoiuieiv  an  aversion  for 
them^  ibr-lhey  impeded  heTmHuence  with  the  king ;  the  high 
aristocracy  took  offence  at  their  power;  and  ere  long  the 
whole  court  united  with  the  people  to  attack  them,  joining 
vigorously  in  outcries  against  their  tyranny. 

Charles  did  not  forsake  them  ;  he  had  full  confidence  in 
their  devotedness  and  ability  ;  their  opinions  were  quite  in 
unison  with  his  own,  and  he  entertained  for  the  profound  piety 
of  Laud  a  respect  blended  with  affection.  But  in  retaining 
them  in  his  service,  despite  the  court,  he  was  not  in  a  condi- 
tion to  make  the  court  submit  to  their  government.  Grave  in 
his  deportment  and  sentiments,  his  mind  was  not  of  sufficient 
depth  or  grasp  to  comprehend  the  difficulties  of  absolute  power, 
and  the  necessity  of  sacrificing  everything  to  it.     Such  were, 

•  HowelPs  Letters,  1650,  Letter  34 ;  Strafford's  Letters,  i.,  79 ;  Bio- 
graphia  Britannica,  in  vita. 

6* 


66 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


67 


HI^'- 


in  his  eyes,  the  rights  of  royalty,  that  it  seemed  to  him  nothmg 
A  1^ ought  to  cost  him  an  effort.  In  the  council,  .he^p£lied_hixn- 
selt  regularly  and  with  attention,  to  puWic  afi&sj^butjh^ 
duty  fulfilled,  he  troubled  himseTf  very  little  about  themjand 
the  necessity  of  governing  was  infinitely  less  present  lo  his 
thoughts  than  the  pleasure  of  reigning.  The  good  or  bad 
temper  of  the  queen,  the  usages  of  the  court,  the  prerogatives 
of  the  officers  of  the  palace,  appeared  to  him  important  con- 
siderations,  which  the  political  interests  of  his  crown  could 
not  require  him  to  forget.  Hence  arose,  for  his  ministers, 
petty  but  continual  annoyances  and  difficulties,  which  the 
king  left  them  to  the  full  endurance  of,  thinking  he  did  enough 
for  them  and  for  himself  by  retaining  them  in  their  offices. 
They  were  charged  to  exercise  absolutism,  yet  the  power  to 
do  so  failed  them  the  moment  they  called  for  some  domestic 
sacrifice,  some  measure  contrary  to  the  forms  and  rules  of 
Whitehall.  All  the  time  of  his  administration  in  Ireland, 
Strafford  was  constantly  called  upon  for  explanations  and 
apologies ;  now,  he  had  spoken  lightly  of  the  queen,  and  now 
again,  some  influential  family  had  complained  of  his  hauteur  ; 
he  had  to  justify  his  words,  his  manners,  his  character ;  all 
these  idle  accusations  obliged  him  to  reply,  from  Dublin,  to 
something  that  had  been  said,  some  rumor  that  was  afloat 
about  him  in  the  palace ;  and  he  did  not  always  obtain  an  as- 
surance in  return,  which  (setting  him  at  ease  as  to  these  minor 
perils)  enabled  him  to  carry  on  without  fear  the  authority  yet 

left  him.* 

Thus,  notwithstanding  the  energy  and  zeal  of  his  principal 
councillors,  notwithstanding  the  tranquil  state  of  the  country, 
notwithstanding  the  private  worth  of  the  king's  conduct,  and 
the_proud  bearing  of  his  language,  the  government  was  with- 
out  strength  and  without  consideration.  Assailed  by  domestic 
dtsseiisibns,  carried  away  alternately  by  opposing  mfluences, 
sometimes  arrogantly  shaking  off  the  yoke  of  the  laws,  some- 
times giving  way  before  the  slightest  difficulties,  it  proceeded 
without  any  settled  plan  ;  it  forgot,  at  every  turn,  its  own  de- 

^j^ns.     It  had  abandoned,  on  the  continent,  thejcause  of  prO- 
lestantismTand  had  even  torpidden  lord  ScirgTamore,  its  ambas- 

Jsailor  at  Faris,  to  attend  divme  service  in  the  chapel  of  the 

•  Strafford's  Letters,  i.,  128, 138,  142,  144 ;  ii.,  42,  105,  126,  &c. 


reformers,  because  the  forms  did  not  come  near  enough  to  the  - 
QJEJof  \^^  Kr.gTi'gVi  v>hTrrr4T-*:  Attitj  yetit  «Howed  the  -mafqiiis 
of  Hamilton  to  raise  in  Scotland  a  body  of  six  thousand  men, 
and  to  go  and  fight  at  their  head  (1631)  under  the  banners  of 
Gustavus  Adolphus,f  not  foreseeing  he  would  there  imbibe 
the  principles  and  creed  of  the  very  puritans  whom  the 
church  of  England  proscribed.  Qharlf^s's  faith  in  the^  re- 
f^rmpH_rpliginn,^^ch  as  Henry  VIII.  and  ElizabeTh  had  made 
jfTwas  sincere  ^^"nd  yet,  whether  from  tenderness  to  htSTrtfe,"" 
or  from  a  spirit  ot  nfD'dHraUuu'SKd.TIBTtce^^^^^^^  an  instlTicr* 

oTlvirat  suited  absolute  power,  he  often  granted  to  the  caT^ 
thollcs,  noT  only  a  liberty  at  that  time  illegal,  but  almost' 
avoweljavox^i  Archbishop  Laud,  as  sincere  as  his  master, 
wrote  against  the  court  of  Rome,  even  preached  strongly 
against  the  worship  conducted  in  the  queen's  chapel,  yet  at 
the  same  time  he  showed  himself  so  favorable  to  the  system 
of  the  Romish  church,  that  the  pope  thought  himself  author- 
ized to  offer  him  a  cardinal's  hat  (Aug.,  1633). j:  In  th^ 
conduct  of  civil  affairs^  there  reigned  the  same^mdecision,  the 
sam§  Jaeen&istency.  No  broad,  clear  pTan  was  perceptible  ; 
tiQ^lQwerfulJiand  made  itself  unlfomily  felt.  Despotism  was 
^pompQUslyjdispla^^,  and,  on  occasion,  exercised  with  rigor  ; 

buTto^ive  it  a  fi^fecTTOisTrequired  too  many  efforts,  too  much ^ 

perseverance  ;  it'came^  by  degrees,  to  be  left  quite  out  of  ' 
mln3^^S[Iiat  its  abstract  pretensions  daily  more  and  more  ex-' 
ceeded  itTnteans.  The  treasury  was  administered  with  ordef 
andprobny7**the  king  was  not  wasteful ;  yet  the  want  of 
money  was  just  as  great  as  could  have  been  brought  about  by 
the  grossest  prodigality  on  the  part  of  the  prince,  and  the 
worst  peculation  on  the  part  of  his  officers  ;  in  the  same  way 
that  Charles  had  haughtily  refused  to  yield  to  parliament,  to 
obtain  from  it  an  income  sufficient  for  his  expenses,  he  now 
thought  he  should  lower  himself,  by  reducing  his  expenses  to 
a  level  with  his  income. §     Splendor  about  the  thrp"fti  gourt 

•  NeaPs  History  of  the  Puritans,  1822  ;  ii.,  234. 

t  Clarendon,  i.,  254.         J  Laud's  Diary,  p.  49  ;  Whitelocke's,  18. 

6  The  pensions,  which,  under  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  were  18,000/., 
rose,  under  James  I.,  to  80,000/. ;  and,  in  1626,  a  little  more  than  a 
year  after  the  accession  of  Charles  I.,  they  already  amounted  to 
120,000/.  The  expenses  of  the  king's  household,  in  the  same  interval, 
had  increased  from  45,006/.  to  80,000/.  ;  that  of  the  wardrobe  had 
doubled ;  that  of  the  privy  purse,  tripled,  &c.-— Rush  worth,  i.,  207. 


68 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


69 


i< . 


festivals,  the  old  customs  of  the, crown,  were  in  his  eyes  con- 
ditions, rights,  almost  duties  of  ro'yaTty;  sometimes  'he' Was 
Ignorant  of  the  abuses  put  in  practice  to  provide  for  these,  and 
when  he  did  know,  he  had  not  the  courage  to  reform  them. 
Thus,  though  relieved  by  peace  from  all  extraordinary  expen- 
diture, he  found  himself  unable  to  meet  the  wants  of  his  go- 
vernment. Englishcommerce  was  prospering  ;  the_mercan- 
tile  marine,  daiTjTgrowing  more  numerous  ancTmbre  active, 
solicited  the  protection  of  the  royal  navy.  Charts  confi- 
dently  promised  it,  and  even  made,  from  time  to  time,  serious 
efforts  to  keep  his  word  ;*  but,  as  a  general  rule,TEemeTCtiant 
fleets  were  without  convoy,  for  the  king's  vessels  wantedrig- 
ging,  and  the  sailors  were  unpaid.  The  pirates  of  Barbary 
came  to  the  British  channel,  to  the  very  straits  of  Dover  ;  they 
infested  the  shores  of  Great  Britain,  landed,  pillaged  the  vil- 
lacres,  and  carried  off  thousands  of  captives  (1637).  Captain 
Rainsborough,  who  was  at  length  sent  to  the  coast  of  Morocco 
to  destroy  one  of  their  haunts,  found  there  three  hundred  and 
seventy  slaves,  English  and  Irish  ;  and  such  was  the  weakness 
or  the  improvidence  of  the  administration,  that  Strafford  was 
obliged  to  arm  a  ship  at  his  own  expense  to  preserve  the  very 
port  of  Dublin  from  the  ravages  of  these  pirates.f 

So  much  incapacity,  and  its  inevitable  perils,  did  not  escape 
the  observation  of  experienced  men.  The  foreign  ministers 
who  resided  in  London  wrote  word  of  it  to  their  masters  ]  and 
soon,  notwithstanding  the  known  prosperity  of  England,  it 
became  a  common  topic  on  the  continent  that  the  government 
oFChartes  was  feeble,  imprudent,  insecure.  At  Pans,  at 
Madrid,  at  the  Hague,  his  ambassadors  were  more  than  once 
treated  slightingly— nay,  with  contempt.:):     Strafford,  Laud, 

•  Warwick's  Memoirs  ;  Rushworth,i.,  2,  257,  &c.  ,,-onN 

t  Strafford's  Letters,  i.,  68;  ii.,  86,  &c. ;  Waller's  Poems  (1730), 

271 

t  The  writings  of  the  time,  among  others  the  letters  collected  by 

Howell,  present  a  thousand  examples  of  this  :  I  shall  only  cite  one. 
When  Sir  Thomas  Edmonds  went  to  France,  in  1629,  to  conclude  the 
treaty  of  peace,  the  gentleman  sent  to  meet  him  to  St.  Denis  and  pre- 
side  at  his  entrance,  said  to  him,  with  a  sneer,  -  Your  Excellency  will 
not  be  astonished  I  have  so  few  gentlemen  with  me,  to  pay  you  honor 
and  accompany  you  to  court ;  there  were  so  many  killed  in  the  isle  ot 
R6;»  a  bitter  allusion  to  the  terrible  defeat  of  the  English  at  that 
island,  under  the  orders  of  the  Duke  of  Buckingham.— Howell  s  Let- 
ters (1705),  210. 


and  some  others  of  the  council,  were  not  ignorant  of  the  evil, 
and  sought  some  remedy  for  it.  Strafford,  especially,  the 
boldest  as  well  as  the  most  ablej  struggled  passionately  against 
all  obstacles ;  he  became  anxious  for  the  future,  and  would 
have  had  the  king,  governing  his  affairs  with  diligence  and 
foresight,  assure  to  himself  a  fixed  revenue,  well-stored  arse- 
nals, fortified  places,  and  an  army.*  He,  for  his  own  part, 
had  not  hesitated  to  assemble  the  Irish  parliament  (1634),  and, 
eittTelTlIirough  the  fear  he  inspired,  or  the  services  he  had 
f^ncfere(3rtKe.  country,  he  had  made  it  the  most  docile  as  well 
as  the  most  useful  instrument  of  his  power.  But  Charles  for- 
bad h««-4»"GalL  it  again  ;f  the  queen  and  heUreaded  the  very 
name  of  parliament,  and  the  fears  of  his  master  did  not  per- 
mit Strafford  to  give  to  tyranny  the  forms  and  support  of  the 
law.  He  urged  the  point  for  a  time,  but  without  success,  and 
at  last  submitted.  Energetic  himself,  he  underwent  the  yoke 
of  weakness  ;  and  his  foresight  was  of  no  avail,  for  he  spoke 
to  the  blind.  Some  of  the  council,  who  thought  as  he  did,  but 
were  more  selfish,  or  better  aware  of  the  futility  of  any 
efforts,  withdrew,  when,  to  support  his  views,  a  struggle  was 
needed,  leaving  him  alone  with  Laud,  exposed  to  the  intrigues 
and  hatred  of  the  court. 

Tyranny,  thus  frivolous  and  unskilful,  daily  needs  some 
new  tyranny  to  carry  it  on.  That  of  Charles  was,  if  not  the 
most  cruel,  at  least  the  most  unjust,  the  most  chargeable  with 
abuse  that  England  had  ever  endured.  Without  being  ablel 
to  allege  in  excuse  any  public  necessity,  without  dazzling 
men's  minds  by  any  great  result,  to  satisfy  obscure  wants,  tc 
gratify  fantastic  and  unmeaning  whims,  he  set  aside  and  out 
raged  ancient  rights  equally  with  the  new-born  wishes  of  thd 
people,  making  no  account  either  of  the  laws  and  opinions  oii 
the  country,  or  of  his  own  promises,  essaying  altogether  hapi 
hazard,  according  to  circumstances,  every  species  of  oppresi 
sion ;  adopting,  in  short,  the  most  rash  resolutions,  the  mosf 
illegal  measures,  not  to  secure  the  triumph  of  a  consistent  an4 
formidable  system,  but  to  maintain  by  daily  expedients  a  power! 
ever  in  embarrassment.  Subtle_Jawyeis^ setta  work  Xiim-yl 
maging  among  old  records  to  discover  a  precedent  for  some 
fbrgpjULejj^iniguit^jJab^  brought  to  light  the^buses^ of 


Y 


•  Strafford's  Letters,  ii.,  61,  62,  66. 


t  Ibid.,  i.,  365. 


70 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


71 


r 


)f- 


Hi 


past-times,  and  erected  them  into  righU  of  the  throne.    There- 
fiSnTcTther  agents;  not  so  learned,  but  more  actively  darmg, 
converted  theie  pretended  rights  into  real  and  new  vexations; 
and  if  any  appeal  was  made,  servile  judges  were  ready  to 
declare  that,  in  point  of  fact,  the  crown  had  of  old  possessed 
suchTrerog'ative'^     Was  the  acquiescence  of  the  judges  at 
all  matter  of  doubt-was  it  thought  necessary  not  to  pu  their 
influence  too  strongly  to  the  test,  the  irregular  tribunals  the 
star  chamber,  the  l.uncil  of  the  northr^nd  a  number  of  other 
iurisdictions,  independent  of  the  common  law,  were  charged 
ti  "k    Thet;  placl  and  the  aid  of  illegal  magistrates  was 
called  in  when  the   severity  of  legal  magistrates  did  not  suf- 
fice  for  "he  purposes  of  tyranny.     Thus  were  re-established 
impels  loni  faUen  into  desuetude,  and  others  invented  till 
hT  unknown;  thus  re-appeared  those  innumerable  monopo- 
Ues   "ntroduced  and  abandoned  by  Elizabeth  recalled  and 
abandoned  by  James  I.,  constantly  disallowed  by  parliament, 
and  at  one  time  abolished  by  Charles  himself,  and  which,  giving 
to  contractors  or  to  privileged  courtiers  the  exclusive  sale  of 
almost  all  commodities,  inflicted  suffering  upon  the  people 
^d  kritated  them  still  more  by  the  unjust  and  most  irregular 
^bd  vision  of  their  profits-t     The  extension  of.  the  royal  fo- 
rests t^at  abuse  which  had  often  driv«rthe  T,arons  of  old  in 
Sand  to  arms,  became  so  great,  that  the  forest  of  Rocking- 
ham alone  was  increased  from  six  to  sixty  miles  in  circuit, 

20  000/  •  lord  Westmoreland,  19,000/.  ,  sir  ^"^^^"i;"„  .  <5^^. 
IS.  \  lord  Newport,  3000/^ ;  sir  Lewis  Watson,  4000/.,  &c. ,  Straf 
ford's  Letiers,  ii.,  117  ;  Pari.  Hist.,  n.,  642. 


subject.  Commissioners  went  about  the  country  questioning 
here  the  rights  of  the  possessors  of  former  domains  of  the 
crown,  there  the  rate  of  emoluments  attached  to  certain  offices, 
elsewhere  the  right  of  citizens  to  build  new  houses,  or  that  of 
agriculturists  to  change  their  arable  land  into  pasture,  and 
they  proceeded,  whenever  they  could  make  out  a  case  at  all, 
not  to  reform  abuses,  but  to  sell  their  continuation  at  a  high 
price.*  Privileges,  irregularities  of  all  kinds,  were,  between 
the  king  aild'th?5se  who  made  a  business  of  them,  a  compact 
subject  of  disgraceful  bargains.  They  even  turned  into  a 
commodity  the  severity  of  the  judges  ;  under  the  least  pre- 
text, unheard-of  fines  were  imposed,  which,  striking  terror 
into  those  who  apprehended  a  similar  visitation,  determined 
them  to  secure  themselves  beforehand  by  a  handsome  bribe. 
It  really  seemed  as  though  the  tribunals  had  no  other  business 
than  to  provide  for  the  wants  of  the  king,  or  to  ruin  the  ad- 
versaries of  his  power.f  If  discontent  in  any  particular 
county  appeared  too  general  for  such  proceedings  to  be  easily 
practicable,  the  provincial  militia  was  disarmed,  and  royal 
troops  were  sent  there,  whom  the  inhabitants  were  bound,  not 
only  to  board  and  lodge,  but  moreover  to  equip.  For  not 
paying  that  which  they  did  not  owe,  men  were  put  in  prison ; 
they  were  released  on  paying  a  portion  of  the  amount,  more 
or  less,  according  to  their  fortune,  credit,  or  management. 
Imposts,  imprisonments,  judgments,  rigors,  or  favors,  every- 
thing was  matter  of  arbitrary  rule ;  and  arbitrary  rule  ex- 
tended itself  daily  more  and  more  over  the  rich,  because  there 
was  money  to  be  got  from  them,  over  the  poor,  because  they 
were  not  to  be  feared.  At  last,  when  complaints  grew  so  loud 
that  the  court  took  alarm,  the  magistrates  who  had  given  cause 
for  them  purchased  impunity  in  their  turn.  In  an  excess  of 
insane  despotism,  for  speaking  a  few  inconsiderate  words, 
Strafford  had  caused  lord  Mountnorris  to  be  condemned  to 
death  ;  and,  though  the  sentence  had  not  been  carried  into 
effect,  the  mere  statement  of  the  prosecution  had  raised  against 
the  deputy  in  Ireland,  in  England,  even  in  the  king's  council, 
loud  reprobation.     To  appease  it,  Strafford  sent  to  London  six 

*  May,  i.,  17 ;  Rushworth,  ii.,  2,  915. 

t  The  sum  total  of  the  fines  imposed  during  this  epoch  for  the 
king's  profit,  amounted  to  more  than  six  millions  of  money.  See  Ap- 
pendix IV. 


72 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH   KEVOLITTION. 


73 


thousand  pounds,  to  be  distributed  among  the  pnncipal  coun- 
ciUors.     ^l  fell  upon  the  right  way  "  answered  lord  Cotting- 
ton   an  old  and  crafty  courtier,  to  whom  he  had  entrusted  the 
affair  "  which  was  to  give  the  money  to  him  that  really  could 
dfth;  busfness,  which^as  the  king  himself;;  and  Strafford 
obtained  at  this  price,  not  only  exemption  from  all  conse- 
quences,  but  the  permission  to  distribute,  at  his  own  pleasure 
amoncT  his  favorites,  the  spoils  of  the  man   whom,  at  his  own 
pleasure,  he  had  caused  to  be  condemned. 
^  Such  was  the  effect  of  Charles's  necessities  :  his  fears  car- 
ried  him  even  much  further  than  his  necessities      Notwith- 
standin<T  his  haughty  indifference,  he  at  times  felt  his  weak- 
ness,  and  sought  for  support.     He  mad^^^««^empts  to 
restore  to  the  higher  aristocracy  the  strength  it  no  longer  en- 
ioved. "  Under  the  pretence  of  preventing  prodigality,  country 
ggStTemen  were  ordered  to  live  on  their  estates  ;  their  influ- 
Ince  was  feared  in  London.f     The  star-chamber  took  under 
its  care  the  consideration  due  to  the  nobility.     A  want  ot  re- 
spect,  an  inadvertency,  a  joke,  the  least  action  which  seemed 
not  to  keep  in  just  recognition  the  superiority  of  their  rank 
and  of  their  rights,  was  punished  with  extreme  rigor,  and 
always  by  enormous  fines  for  the  benefit  of  the  kmg  and 
the    offended    party.*     The    aim   was  to   make    the    cour^ 
people  powerful  and  respected  ;  but  these  attempts  were  not 
followed  up,  either  because  their  futility  was  soon  ascertained 
or  because  the  history  of  the  barons  of  old  had  the  effect  of 
inspirinrr  the  king  with  some  distrust  of  their  descendants.     In 
point  of  fact,  some  of  them  were  foremost  in  the  ranks  of  the 
malcontents,  and  only  these  had  any  credit  among  the  people 
at  large      The  court  still  succeeded,  on  occasions,  in  humiliat- 
in^T  private   gentlemen  before  the  lords  of  the  court  ;  but  it 
became  clearly  necessary  to  seek  elsewhere   a  body  who 
already  powerful  in  themselves,  still  stood  m  need  of  aid  troni 

;  MSfth'an^Sn^^^^^^  were  proceeded  against  in  one 

day  (March  20,  1635),  and  bf  the  same   indictment,  for  having  diso- 
beved  this  iniunction.     Rushworth,  i.,  2,  288.  , 

1  A  person  named  Grenville  was  condemned  to  pay  the  king  4000/ 
and  tmTch  in  damages  to  lord  Suffolk,  for  having  said  of  the  latter 
that  heZ^abase  lord  ;  Pettager  was  fined  2000/.,  and  ordered  to  be 
flogged,  for  having  used  the  same  term  in  reference  to  the  earl  of 
Kingston.     Rushworth,  ii..  2.     Append.  43,  72. 


the  crown,  and  might,  by  being  admitted  to  a  share  of  abso- 
lute power,  contribute  in  return  to  its  support.  For  a  long 
time  past  the  English  clergy  had  solicited  this  mission  ;  they 
were  now  called  to  fulfil  it. 

Emanating  in  its  origin  from  the  sole  will  of  the  temporal 
sovereign,  the  Anglican  church  had,  as  has  been  seen,  thence 
lost  all  independence ;  it  had  no  longer  a  divine  mission,  it 
subsisted  no  longer  of  its  own  right.  Standing  apart  from  the 
people,  who  did  not  elect  them,  separated  from  the  pope  and 
the  universal  church,  formerly  their  support,  the  bishops  and 
the  superior  clergy  were  mere  delegates  of  the  prince,  his  chief 
servants ;  an  altogetlier  false  position  for  a  body  charged  to 
represent  that  which  is  most  independent  and  elevated  in  the 
nature  of  man — faith.  The  English  church  had  early  per- 
ceived this  defect  in  its  constitution  ;  but  its  many  perils,  and 
fear  of  the  strong  hand  of  Henry  VIII.  and  of  Elizabeth,  had 
prevented  it  from  taking  any  steps  to  retrieve  its  position. 
Assailed  at  once  by  the  catholics  and  the  nonconformists,  its 
possessions  and  its  faith  still  alike  precarious,  it  devoted  itself 
unreservedly  to  the  service  of  temporal  power,  acknowledging 
its  own  dependence,  and  admitting  the  absolute  supremacy 
of  the  throne,  which,  at  that  time,  could  alone  save  it  from  its 
enemies. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  some  few  indi- 
cations manifested  themselves,  here  and  there,  on  the  part  of 
the  Anglican  clergy,  of  rather  loftier  pretensions.  Dr.  Ban- 
croft, chaplain  to  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  maintained 
that  episcopacy  was  not  a  human  institution,  that  it  had  been, 
from  the  time  of  the  apostles,  the  government  of  the  church, 
and  that  bishops  held  their  rights,  not  from  the  temporal 
sovereign,  but  from  God  alone.*  This  new  clergy,  in  fact, 
had  begun  to  think  its  power  more  firmly  based,  and  took  a 
first  step  towards  independence;  but  the  attempt,  ventured 
timidly,  was  haughtily  repulsed.  Elizabeth  asserted  the  pleni- 
tude of  her  spiritual  supremacy,  emphatically  repeating  to  the 
bishops  that  they  were  nothing  but  by  her  will ;  and  the  arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  contented  himself  with  saying  he  wished 
the  doctor  was  right,  but  he  did  not  dare  flatter  himself  he 
was.f     The  people  energetically  sided  with  the  queen  j  their 

*  In  a  sermon,  preached  12th  Jan.,  15S8.— Neal,  i.,  395. 
t  Ibid.,  i.,  397. 

7 


/;!, 


74 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


76 


.1 
11 


onlv  thought  was  to  advance  reform,  and  they  perfectly  well 
understood  that  if  the  bishops  aspired  to  independence,  it  was 
not  to  free  faith  fr6m  temporal  authority,  but  to  oppress  it  on 

their  own  account.  i^  u       j 

Nothing  decisive  was  done  under  James  I. ;  selhsh  and  cun- 
nine,  he  cared  little  about  aggravating  the  evil,  provided  he 
kept  clear  of  the  peril.     He  maintained  his  supremacy,  but 
granted  so  much  favor  to  the  bishops,  took  so  much  care  to 
Itrencrthen  their  power,  by  harsh  treatment  of  their  enemies, 
that  their  confidence  and  strength  daily  augmented.     Zealous 
in  proclaiming  the  divine  right  of  the  throne,  they  soon  began 
to  speak  of  their  own  ;   that  which  Bancroft  had  timidly  in- 
sinuated,  became  an  opinion  openly  avowed  by  all  the  upper 
clergy,  supported  in  numerous  writings,  asserted  from  the  very 
pulpit.     Bancroft  himself  was  created  archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury  (Dec,  1604).     Every  time  that  the  king  made  a  parade 
of  his  prerogative,  the  clergy  bowed  with  respect ;  but  imme- 
diately  after  these  acts  of  momentary  humility,  resumed  their 
pretensions,  putting  them  forward,  more  especially  as  against 
the  people,  the  better  to  conciliate  the  king,  devoting  them- 
selves  more  and  more  to  the  cause  of  absolute  monarchy,  and 
looking  forward  to  the  day  when  they  should  be  so  necessary 
to  it,  that  it  Would  be  compelled  to  acknowledge  their  indepen- 
dence  to  make  sure  of  their  aid. 

When  Charles,  having  quarrelled  with  his  parliament,  stood 
alone  in  the  midst  of  his  kingdom,  seeking  on  all  sides  the 
means  of  governing,  the  AngUcan  clergy  believed  this  day 
was  come.  They  had  again  got  immense  wealth,  and  enjoyed 
it  withont  dispute.  The  papists  no  longer  inspired  them  with 
alarm.  The  primate  of  the  church,  Laud,  possessed  the  en- 
tire  confidence  of  the  king,  and  alone  directed  all  ecclcsiastica 
affairs.  Among  the  other  ministers,  none  professed,  like  lord 
Burleigh  under  Elizabeth,  to  fear  and  struggle  against  the  en- 
croachments  of  the  clergy.  The  courtiers  were  indifferent, 
or  secret  papists.  Learned  men  threw  lustre  over  the  church. 
The  universities,  that  of  Oxford  more  especially,  were  devoted 
to  her  maxims.  Only  one  adversary  remained— the  people, 
each  day  more  discontented  with  uncompleted  reform,  and 
more  eager  fully  to  accomplish  it.  But  this  adversary  was 
also  the  adversary  of  the  throne  ;  it  claimed  at  the  same  time, 
the  one  to  secure  the  other,  evangelical  faith  and  civil  liberty. 


The  same  peril  threatened  the  sovereignty  of  the  crown  and 
of  episcopacy.  The  king,  sincerely  pious,  seemed  disposed 
to  believe  that  he  was  not  the  only  one  who  held  his  authority 
from  God,  and  that  the  power  of  the  bishops  was  neither  of 
less  high  origin,  nor  of  less  sacred  character.  Never  had  so 
many  favorable  circumstances  seemed  combined  to  enable  the 
clergy  to  achieve  independence  of  the  crown,  dominion  over 
the  people. 

Laud  set  himself  to  work  with  his  accustomed  vehemence. 
First  it  was  essential  that  all  dissensions  in  the  bosom  of  the 
church  itself  should  cease,  and  that  the  strictest  uniformity 
should  infuse  strength  into  its  doctrines,  its  discipline,  its  wor- 
ship.  He  applied  himself  to  this  task  with  the  most  unhesi- 
tating and  unscrupulous  resolution.  Power  was  exclusively 
concentrated  into  the  hands  of  the  bishops.  The  court  of  high 
commission,  where  they  took  cognizance  of  and  decided  every- 
thing relating  to  religious  matters,  became  day  by  day  more 
arbitrary,  more  harsh  in  its  jurisdiction,  its  forms,  and  its 
penalties.  The  complete  adoption  of  the  Anglican  canons,  the 
minute  observance  of  the  liturgy,  and  the  rites  enforced  in 
cathedrals,  were  rigorously  exacted  on  the  part  of  the  whole 
ecclesiastical  body.  A  great  many  livings  were  in  the  hands 
of  nonconformists ;  they  were  withdrawn  from  them.  The 
people  crowded  to  their  sermons ;  they  were  forbidden  to 
preach.*  Driven  from  their  churches,  deprived  of  their  in- 
comes, they  travelled  from  town  to  town,  teaching  and  preach- 
ing to  the  faithful  who,  in  a  tavern,  private  house,  or  field, 
would  gather  round  them ;  persecution  followed  and  reached 
them  everywhere.  In  the  country,  noblemen,  retired  citizens, 
rich  families  devoted  to  their  faith,  received  them  into  their 
homes  as  chaplains  or  as  tutors  for  their  children ;  persecution 
penetrated  even  here,  and  drove  forth  the  chosen  chaplains  and 
tutors. f  These  proscribed  men  quitted  England  ;  they  went 
to  France,  Holland,  Germany,  to  found  churches  in  accord- 
ance with  their  faith ;  despotism  pursued  them  beyond  seas, 
and  summoned  these  churches  to  conform  to  the  Anglican 
rites.:):  French,  Dutch,  German  mechanics  had  brought  their 
industry  into  England,  and  obtained  charters  which  assured  to 
them  the  free  exercise  of  their  national  religion ;  these  char- 


Neal,  ii.,  179,  etc. 


t  Neal,  ii.,  179,  etc. 


t  lb.,  205, 


76 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ters  were  withdrawn  from  them,  and  most  of  them  abandoned 
their  adopted  country  ;  the  diocese  of  Norwich  alone  lost  three 
thousand  of  these  hard-working   foreigners.*     Thus  deprived 
of  every  asylum,  of  all   employment,  fugitives  or  concealed, 
the  nonconformists  still  wrote  in  defence  and  in  propagation  of 
their  doctrines ;    the  censor  prohibited  these  new  books,  and 
sought  out  and  suppressed  the  old.f     It  was  even  absolutely 
forbidden  to  touch,  either  in  the  pulpit  or  elsewhere,  upon  the 
questions  with  which  men's  minds  were  most  agitated  4    for 
the  controversy  was  general  and   profound,  upon  dogmas  as 
upon  discipline,  on  the  mysteries  of  human  destiny  as  on  the 
proper  forms  of  public  worship  ;    and  the  Anglican  church 
would  neither  tolerate  departure  from  its  ceremonies,  nor  ad- 
mit  discussion  of  its  opinions.     The  people  grieved  to  hear  no 
longer  either  the  men  they  loved,  or  the  topics  that  occupied 
their  thoughts.     To  calm  their  alarms,  to  prevent  being  en- 
tirely  separated  from  their  flock,  moderate  or  timid  noncon- 
formist ministers  offered  partial  submission,  claiming  in  return 
some  partial  concessions,  such  as  the  not  wearing  a  surplice, 
the  not  giving  to  the  communion  table  the  form  or  position  of 
an  altar,   and  so  on.     They  were  answered,  either  that  the 
form  in  question  was  so  important,  that  they  must  not  depart 
from  it,  or  that  it  .was  so  unimportant,  as  not  to  be  worth  their 
opposing  it.     Driven  to  extremity,  they  determinately  resisted, 
and  insult  as  well  as  condemnation  awaited  them  in  the  eccle- 
siastical courts.     The  bishops  and  judges,  and  their  officers, 
thee-and-thoued  them  in  the   most   insolent  manner;   called 
them  all  sorts  of  fools,  idiots,  rascally  knaves,  and  habitually 
ordered  them  to  be  silent  the  moment  they  opened  their  mouths 
to  defend  themselves,  or  explain  anything.§     Even  if  they  re- 
nounced  preaching,  writing,  or  appearing  in  public  at  all, 
tyranny  did  not  renounce  its   persecution ;   its  malevolence 
was  characterized  by  an  ingenuity,  a  tenacity  of  oppression, 
which  no   prudence  on  the  part  of  the  wretched  men  could 
foresee,  no  humility  turn  aside.     Mr.  Workman,  a  minister  at 
Gloucester,    had   asserted   that   pictures    and    ornaments   in 
churches  were  a  relic  of  idolatry  ;  he  was  thrown  into  prison. 

♦  Rushworth,  i.,  2,  27?  ;  May,  i.,  83 ;  Neal,  ii.,  232. 
t  Decree  of  the  star-chamber,  July  11,  1C37  ;  Rushworth,  u.,  2,  ap- 
pendix, 306  ;  Neal,  ii.,  165.  t  I^.,  ii.,  163. 
§  Rushworth,  i.,  2,  233,  240;  Neal,  i.,  256,  in  the  note,  p.  352. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


77 


A  short  time  before,  the  town  of  Gloucester  had  made  him  a  " 
grant  of  twenty  pounds  a-year  for  life  ;  it  was  ordered  to  cease, 
and  the  mayor  and  municipal  officers  were  prosecuted  and 
fined  a  large  sum  for  having  made  it.  On  quitting  his  prison, 
Workman  opened  a  little  school ;  Laud  ordered  it  to  be  closed. 
To  earn  a  living,  the  poor  minister  turned  doctor  ;  Laud  in- 
terdicted his  medicining  as  he  had  interdicted  his  teaching  : 
hereupon  Workman  went  mad,  and  soon  after  died.* 

Meantime,   the   pomp   of  catholic    worship   speedily   took 
possession  of  the  churches  deprived  of  their  pastors ;  while 
persecution  kept  away  the  faithful,  magnificence  adorned  the 
walls.     They  were  consecrated   amid  great  display,!  and  it 
was  then  necessary  to  employ  force  to  collect  a  congregation. 
Laud  was  Ibnd  of  prescribing  minutely  the  details  of  new 
ceremonies — sometimes  borrowed  from  Rome,  sometimes  the 
production  of  his  own  imagination,  at  once  ostentatious  and 
austere.     On  the  part  of  the  nonconformists,  every  innova- 
tion, the  least  derogation  from  the  canons  or  the  liturgy,  was 
punished  as  a  crime  ;  yet  Laud  innovated  without  consulting 
anybody,  looking  to  nothing  beyond  the  king's  consent,  and 
sometimes  acting  entirely  upon  his  own  authority.:t    He  altered 
the  interior  arrangement  of  churches,  the  forms  of  worship, 
imperiously  prescribed  practices  till  then  unknown,  even  altered 
the  liturgy  which  parliament  had  sanctioned ;  and  all  these 
changes  had,  if  not  the  aim,  at  all  events  the  result  of  render- 
ing the  Anglican  church  more  and  more  like  that  of  Rome. 
The  liberty  the  papists  enjoyed,  and  the  hopes  they  displayed, 
whether  from  imprudence  or  design,  confirmed  the  people  in 
their  worst  apprehensions.     Books  were  published  to  prove 
that  the  doctrine  of  the  English  bishops  might  very  well  adapt 
its-lf  to  that  of  Rome ;  and  these  books,  thougn  not  regularly 
licensed,  were  dedicated  to  the  king  or  to  Laud,  and  openly 
tole rated. §      Many   theologians,    friends   of    Laud,    such    as 
bishop  Montague,  Dr.  Cosens,  professed  similar  maxims,  and 
professed  them  with   entire  impunity,  while  preachers  whom 
the  people  loved,  in  vain  exhausted  compliance  and  courage 
to  retain  some  right  to  preach  and  write.     Accordingly,  the 
belief  in    the    speedy  triumph  of  popery  grew  daily   more 
strong,  and  the  courtiers,  who  were  nearer  the  scene  of  action, 

♦  Neal,  iii.,  204.      t  lb.,  190.      X  lb.,  220.      §  Whitelocke,  p.  22. 

7* 


is  r 


78 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


79 


li 


fully  shared  this  belief  with  the  people.  The  duke  of  Devon- 
shire's daughter  turned  catholic ;  Laud  asked  her  what  rea- 
sons  had  determined  her  to  this  ?  "1  hate  to  be  in  a  crowd," 
said  she  ;  "  and  as  I  perceive  your  grace  and  many  others  are 
hastening  towards  Rome,  1  want  to  get  there  comfortably  by 
myself  before  you." 

The  splendor  and  exclusive  dominion  of  episcopacy  thus 
established,  at  least  so  he  flattered  himself,  Laud  proceeded 
to  secure  its  independence.  One  might  have  thought  that  in 
this  desire  he  would  have  found  the  king  less  docile  to  his 
counsels  ;  but  it  was  quite  otherwise.  The  divine  right  of 
bishops  became,  in  a  short  time,  the  official  doctrine,  not  only 
of  the  upper  clergy,  but  of  the  king  himself  Dr.  Hall,  bishop 
of  Exeter,  set  it  forth  in  a  treatise  which  Laud  took  care  to 
revise,  and  from  which  he  struck  out  every  vague  or  timid 
sentence,  every  appearance  of  doubt  or  concession.*  From 
books,  this  doctrine  soon  passed  into  acts.  The  bishops  held 
their  ecclesiastical  courts  no  longer  in  the  name  and  by  virtue 
of  delegation  from  the  king,  but  in  their  own  name ;  the  epis- 
copal seal  alone  was  affixed  to  their  acts ;  it  was  declared  that 
the  superintendence  of  the  universities  belonged  of  right  to  the 
metropolitan. f  The  supremacy  of  the  prince  was  not  formally 
abolished,  but  it  might  be  said  only  to  remain  as  a  veil  to  the 
usurpations  that  were  to  destroy  it.  Thus  throwing  off,  by 
degrees,  all  temporal  restraint,  on  the  one  hand,  the  church, 
on  the  other,  encroached  upon  civil  affairs ;  her  jurisdiction 
extended  itself  to  the  expense  of  the  ordinary  tribunals,  and 
never  had  so  many  ecclesiastics  held  seats  in  the  king's 
council,  or  occupied  the  high  offices  of  state.  At  times,  the 
lawyers,  finding  their  personal  interests  threatened,  rose 
against  these  encroachments  ;  but  Charles  gave  no  heed  to 
them ;  and  such  was  the  confidence  felt  by  Laud,  that  when 
he  had  caused  the  wand  of  high  treasurer  to  be  given  to  bishop 
Juxon,  he  exclaimed,  in  the  transport  of  his  joy,  "  Now  let 
the  church  subsist  and  sustain  her  own  power  herself; — all  is 
accomplished  for  her:  I  can  do  no  more. "J 

By  the  time  things  had  come  to  this  pass,  the  people  were 
not  alone  in  their  anger.  The  high  nobility,  part  of  them  at 
least,  took  the  alarm.§     They  saw  in  the  progress  of  the 

♦  Neal,  ii.,  292.  t  lb.,  243  ;  Whitelocke,  ut  sup. 

X  Laud's  Diary,  under  date  of  the  6th  of  March,  1036.    §  Neal,  ii.,  250. 


church  far  more  than  mere  tyranny ;  it  was  a.  regular  revolu-  . 
tion,  which,  not  satisfied  with  crushing  popular  reforms,  dis- 
figured and  endangered  the  first  reformation ;  that  which 
kings  had  made  and  the  aristocracy  adopted.  The  latter  had 
learned  to  proclaim  the  supremacy  and  divine  right  of  the 
throne,  which,  at  least,  freed  them  from  any  other  empire  ; 
now  they  had  severally  to  acknowledge  the  divine  right  of 
bishops,  and  to  bow  down,  in  their  turn,  before  that  church 
whose  humiliation  they  had  admiringly  sanctioned,  in  whose 
spoils  they  had  shared.  From  them  was  required  servility, 
still  more  jealous  of  its  prerogatives  than  liberty  of  its  rights ; 
yet  others,  heretofore  their  inferiors,  were  permitted  to  as- 
sume independence.  They  felt  their  rank,  nay,  perhaps  their 
property,  in  danger.  Haughtiness  on  the  part  of  the  clergy, 
was  an  annoyance  to  which  they  had  now  been  long  unac- 
customed ;  they  heard  people  say,  that  the  day  would  soon 
come  when  a  simple  ecclesiastic  would  be  as  great  a  per- 
sonage as  the  proudest  gentleman  in  the  land  ;*  they  saw  the 
bishops  or  their  creatures  carry  off  well  nigh  all  public  offices, 
well  nigh  all  the  favors  of  the  crown,  the  only  compensation 
remaining  to  the  nobles  for  the  loss  of  their  ancient  splendor, 
their  liberties,  and  their  power.  Charles,  besides  being  sin- 
cere in  his  devotion  to  the  clergy,  promised  himself  in  their 
exaltation  a  strong  support  against  the  ill-will  of  the  people  ; 
and,  altogether,  the  disposition  to  censure  the  conduct  and  to 
suspect  the  designs  of  government,  soon  became  universal ; 
discontent  spread  from  the  workshops  of  the  city  to  the  saloons 
of  Whitehall. 

Among  the  higher  classes,  it  manifested  itself  in  a  distaste 
for  the  court,  and  a  freedom  of  mind  hitherto  unknown. 
Several  of  the  higher  nobility,  the  most  esteemed  by  the 
country,  retired  to  their  estates,  in  order  to  show  their  disap- 
probation by  their  absence.  In  London  and  about  the  throne,  . 
the  spirit  of  independence  and  investigation  penetrated  into 
assemblies  before  utterly  servile  or  frivolous.  Since  the  reign 
of  Elizabeth,  a  taste  for  science  and  literature  had  no  longer 
been  the  exclusive  privilege  of  their  professors  ;  the  society  of 
distinguished  men,  philosophers,  scholars,  poets,  artists,  and  the 
pleasures  of  learned  and  literary  conversation,  had  been  sought 

•  Neal,  ii.,  251. 


80 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


by  the  court  as  a  new  source  of  display,  in  other  quarters,  as 
a  noble  pastime  ;  but  no  need  of  opposition  mixed  itself  up  with 
the  spirit  of  these  associations ;  it  was  even  the  fashion,  whether 
they  were  held  in  some  famous  tavern,  or  in  the  mansion  of 
some  lord,  to  ridicule  the  morose  humor  and  fanatic  resistance 
of  the  religious  nonconformists,  already  known  under  the 
appellation  of  puritans.  Fetes,  plays,  literary  conversation, 
an  agreeable  interchange  of  flatteries  and  favors,  were  all  that 
entered  into  the  aim  of  a  society,  of  which  the  throne  was 
usually  the  centre  and  always  the  protector.  It  was  no  longer 
thus  in  the  reign  of  Charles  ;  men  of  letters  and  men  of  the 
world  continued  to  meet  together  ;  but  they  discussed  much 
graver  questions,  and  discussed  them  apart  from  the  observa- 
tion of  power,  which  would  have  taken  offence  at  them.  Public 
affairs,  the  moral  sciences,  religious  problems,  were  the  topics 
of  their  conversations,  which  were  brilliant  and  animated,  and 
eagerly  sought  by  young  men  returned  from  their  travels,  or 
who  were  studying  law  in  the  Temple,  and  by  all  other  men 
of  a  serious  and  active  mind  whose  rank  and  fortune  gave  them 
the  opportunity.  Here  Selden  poured  out  the  treasures  of  his 
erudition ;  Chillingworth  discoursed  of  his  doubts  on  matters 
of  faith;  lord  Falkland,  then  quite  young,  threw  open  his 
house  for  their  meetings,  and  his  gardens  were  compared  to 
those  of  the  Academy.*  There  neither  sects  nor  parties  were 
formed,  but  free  and  vigorous  opinions.  Unshackled  by  sel- 
fish interests  or  projects,  drawn  together  solely  by  the  pleasure 
of  exchanging  ideas,  and  stimulating  each  other  to  generous 
sentiments,  the  men  who  took  part  in  these  meetings  debated 
without  constraint,  and  each  sought  only  truth  and  justice. 
Some  more  particularly  applying  themselves  to  philosophical 
meditation,  inquired  what  form  of  government  most  suited  the 
dignity  of  man  :  others,  lawyers  by  profession,  allowed  no 
illegal  act  of  the  king  or  his  council  to  pass  unnoticed ;  others, 
theologians  by  calling  or  taste,  narrowly  investigated  the  first 
ages  of  Christianity,  their  creeds,  their  forms  of  worship,  and 
compared  them  with  the  church  which  Laud  was  essaying  to 
establish.  These  men  were  not  united  by  common  passions 
and  perils,  nor  by  any  definite  principles  or  object ;  but  they 
all  agreed  and  mutually  excited  each  other  to  detest  tyranny, 

•  Clarendon's  Memoirs  (1827),  i.,  55. 


ENGLISH  REVOLUTION. 


81 


to  despise  the  court,  to  regret  the  parliament,  to  desire,  in 
short,  a  reform  which  they  had  slight  hope  of,  but  in  which 
each,  in  the  freedom  of  his  thought,  promised  himself  the  termi- 
nation of  his  sorrows,  the  accomplishment  of  all  his  wishes. 

Further  from  court,  with  men  of  an  inferior  class  and  in- 
ferior refinement  of  mind,  the  feeling  was  of  a  severer  cha- 
racter, and  the  ideas,  though  narrower,  more  determined.  Here 
opinions  were  connected  with  interest,  passions  with  opinions. 
With  the  gentry,  it  was  more  particularly  against  political 
tyranny  that  anger  was  directed.  The  decay  of  the  higher 
aristocracy,  and  of  the  feudal  system,  had  greatly  weakened 
the  distinctions  of  rank  among  the  inferior  classes  :  all  gentle- 
men at  this  time  regarded  themselves  as  the  descendants  of 
those  who  had  achieved  Magna  Charta  ;  and  were  indignant 
at  seeing  their  rights,  their  persons,  their  possessions  subject 
to  the  good  will  and  pleasure  of  the  king  and  his  councillors, 
while  their  ancestors,  as  they  constantly  reminded  one 
another,  had  of  old  made  war  upon  the  sovereign,  and  dic- 
tated laws.  No  philosophical  theory,  no  learned  distinction 
between  democracy,  aristocracy,  and  royalty,  occupied  them; 
the  house  of  commons  alone  filled  their  thoughts :  that  repre- 
sented, in  their  eyes,  the  nobles  as  well  as  the  people,  the 
ancient  coalition  of  the  barons  as  well  as  the  nation  at  large : 
that  alone  had  of  late  years  defended  public  liberty,  that  alone 
was  capable  of  regaining  it ;  that  alone  was  thought  of,  when 
parliament  was  mentioned ;  and  the  lawfulness  as  well  as  the 
necessity  of  its  being  all-powerful  was  an  idea  that  by  degrees 
established  itself  in  every  mind.  With  respect  to  the  church, 
most  of  the  gentry  were,  as  to  its  form  of  government,  with- 
out any  particular  view,  and  assuredly  without  any  idea  of 
destroying  it.  They  had  no  hostility  to  episcopacy  ;  but  the 
bishops  were  odious  to  them  as  the  abettors  and  upholders  of 
tyranny.  The  reformation  had  proclaimed  the  enfranchise- 
ment of  civil  society,  and  abolished  the  usurpations  of  spiritual 
power  in  temporal  matters.  The  Anglican  clergy  sought  to 
resume  the  power  which  Rome  had  lost :  that  this  ambition 
might  be  repressed,  that  the  pope  should  have  no  successors 
in  England,  that  the  bishops,  keeping  apart  from  the  govern- 
ment of  the  state,  should  limit  themselves  to  administering, 
according  to  the  laws  of  the  land,  the  affairs  of  religion  m 
their  respective  dioceses,  this  was  the  general  wish  and  feel- 


nf 


82 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


88 


I'M'S 


W 


ing  of  the  country  nobility  and  gentry,  who  were  all  well 
enough  disposed  to  sanction  an  episcopal  constitution,  provided 
the  church  neither  pretended  to  political  power  nor  to  divine 

right. 

In  the  towns,  the  better  class  of  citizens,  in  the  country,  a 
large  proportion  of  the  lesser  gentry,  and  almost  all  the  free- 
holders,  carried  their  views,  extended  their  indignation,  par- 
ticularly  in  religious  matters,  much  further  than  this.  With 
them  predominated  a  passionate  attachment  to  the  cause  of 
reform,  an  ardent  desire  to  have  its  great  principles  thoroughly 
worked  out,  a  profound  hatred  of  everything  that  retained 
any  semblance  to  popery,  or  recalled  it  to  their  memory.  It 
was  under  the  usurpations  of  the  Roman  hierarchy,  said  they, 
that  the  primitive  church,  the  simplicity  of  its  worship,  the 
purity  of  its  faith,  were  destroyed.  Therefore  was  it,  they 
went  on,  that  the  first  church  of  reform,  the  new  apostles, 
Zwinglius,  Calvin,  Knox,  applied  themselves  promptly  and 
vigorously  to  abolish  this  tyrannical  constitution  and  its 
idolatrous  pomps.  The  gospel  had  been  their  rule,  the  pri- 
mitive  church  their  model.  England  alone  persisted  in  walk- 
ing  in  the  ways  of  popery :  for  was  the  yoke  of  the  bishops 
less  hard,  their  conduct  more  evangelical,  their  pride  less 
arrogant  than  that  of  Rome  ?  Like  Rome,  they  only  thought 
of  power  and  riches;  like  Rome,  they  disliked  frequent 
preaching,  austerity  of  manners,  freedom  of  prayer ;  like 
Rome,  they  claimed  to  subject  to  immutable  and  minute 
forms  the  impulses  of  Christian  souls ;  like  Rome,  they  sub- 
stituted,  for  the  vivifying  words  of  Christ,  the  worldly  pa- 
geantry  of  their  ceremonies.  On  the  sacred  day  of  the  sabbath 
did  true  Christians  desire  to  perform,  in  the  retirement  of 
their  homes,  their  pious  exercises  ?  in  every  square,  in  every 
street,  the  noise  of  games  and  dancing,  the  riots  of  drunken- 
ness, insultingly  broke  in  upon  their  meditations.  And  the 
bishops  were  not  satisfied- with  permitting  these  profane  pas- 
times:  they  recommended — nay,  almost  commanded  them, 
lest  the  people  should  acquire  a  taste  for  more  holy  pleasures.* 
Was  there  in  their  flock  a  man  whose  timorous  conscience 
felt  wounded  by  some  usages  of  the  church  ?  they  imperiously 
imposed  upon  him  the  observance  of  its  minutest  laws ;  if 

•  Neal,  ii.,  212 ;  Rushworth,  i.,  2,  191. 


they  saw  another  attached  to  the  laws,  they  tormented  him 
with  their  innovations  ;  they  crushed  the  humble  ;  the  high- 
souled,  they  irritated  to  revolt.  On  all  sides  were  main- 
tained the  maxims,  usages,  and  pretensions  of  the  enemies  of 
the  true  faith.  And  why  this  abandonment  of  the  gospel  ? 
this  oppression  of  the  most  zealous  Christian  ?  To  maintain 
a  power  which  the  gospel  conferred  on  no  one,  which  the 
first  believers  had  never  known.  It  was  desired  that  episco- 
pacy should  be  abolished,  that  the  church,  becoming  once 
more  itself,  its  own,  should  be  henceforth  governed  by  minis- 
ters equal  among  themselves,  simple  preachers  of  the  gospel, 
and  regulating  in  concert,  in  common  deliberation,  the  disci- 
pline of  the  Christian  people  ;  this  would  be  indeed  the  church 
of  Christ ;  then  there  would  no  longer  be  idolatry,  or  tyranny ; 
and  the  reformation,  at  last  accomplished,  would  no  longer 
have  to  fear  popery,  even  now  at  the  door,  ready  to  invade 
the  house  of  God,  which  its  keepers  seem  getting  ready  for 
the  reception  of  the  enemy.* 

When  the  people,  among  whom,  from  the  first  rise  of  the 
reformation,  these  ideas  had  been  obscurely  fermenting,  saw 
them  adopted  by  a  number  of  rich,  eminent,  and  influential 
men,  their  own  direct  and  natural  supporters,  they  acquired  a 
confidence  in  them  and  in  themselves,  which,  though  it  did 
not  then  break  out  into  sedition,  soon  changed  the  whole 
condition  and  aspect  of  the  country.  Already  in  1582  and 
16 16,  a  few  nonconformists,  formally  separating  from  the 
church  of  England,  had  formed,  under  the  name,  afterwards 
so  celebrated,  of  Brownists  and  Independents,  little  dissenting 
sects,  who  rejected  all  general  government  of  the  church,  and 
proclaimed  the  right  of  every  congregation  of  the  faithful  to 
regulate  its  own  worship  upon  purely  republican  principles.f 
From  that  epoch,  some  private  congregations  had  been  esta- 
blished on  this  model,  but  they  were  few  in  number,  poor, 
and  almost  all  as  strange  to  the  nation  as  to  the  church.  Ex- 
posed, without  the  means  of  defence,  to  persecution  as  soon  as 
it  had  ferreted  them  out,  the  sectaries  fled,  and  generally  re- 
tired to  Holland.  But  soon  love  for  their  country  struggled 
in  their  hearts,  with  the  desire  for  liberty ;  to  conciliate  both, 
they  sent  messages  to  the  friends  whom  they  had  left  behind, 


♦  Rushworth,  i.,  3,  172. 


t  Neal,  i.,  301 ;  ii.,  43,  92. 


J 


84 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


85 


concerting  with  them  to  go  together  in  search  of  a  new 
country,  in  some  scarcely  known  region,  but  which  at  least 
belonged  to  England  and  where  English  people  only  were  to 
be  found.  The  more  wealthy  sold  their  property,  bought  a 
small  vessel,  provisions,  implements  of  husbandry,  and,  under 
the  charge  of  a  minister  of  their  faith,  went  to  join  their 
friends  in  Holland,  thence  to  proceed  together  to  North  Ame- 
rica, where  some  efforts  at  colonization  were  then  making. 
It  seldom  happened  that  the  vessel  was  large  enough  to  take 
all  the  passengers  who  wished  to  go  ;  on  such  occasions,  all 
being  assembled  on  the  sea  side,  at  the  place  off  which  the 
ship  lay  at  anchor,  there,  on  the  beach,  the  minister  of  that 
part  of  the  congregation  which  was  to  remain  behind,  preached 
a  farewell  sermon ;  the  minister  of  those  who  were  about  to 
depart  answered  him  by  another  sermon.  Long  did  they 
pray  together  ere  they  exchanged  a  parting  embrace  ;  and 
then,  as  the  one  party  sailed  away,  the  other  returned  sorrow- 
fully, to  await  amid  a  strange  people,  the  opportunity  and 
means  of  rejoining  their  brethren.*  Several  expeditions  of 
this  kind  took  place  successively  and  without  obstacle,  owing 
to  the  obscurity  of  the  fugitives.  But  all  at  once,  in  1637, 
the  king  perceived  that  they  had  become  numerous  and  fre- 
quent, that  considerable  citizens  engaged  in  them,  that  they 
carried  away  with  them  great  riches  ;  already,  it  was  said, 
more  than  twelve  millions  of  property  had  thus  been  lost  to 
the  country .f  It  was  no  longer  merely  a  few  weak  and  ob- 
scure  sectarians  who  felt  the  weight  of  tyranny  ;  their 
opinions  had  spread,  and  their  feelings  were  shared,  even  by 
the  classes  which  did  not  adopt  their  opinions.  In  various 
ways,  the  government  had  rendered  itself  so  odious,  that 
thousands  of  men,  differing  in  rank  and  fortune  and  objects, 
severed  themselves  from  their  native  land.  An  order  of  the 
council  forbade  these  emigrations  (May  I,  1637)4  At  that 
very  time,  eight  vessels,  ready  to  depart,  were  at  anchor  in 
the  Thames  :  on  board  one  of  them  were  Pym,  Haslerig, 
Hampden,  and  Cromwell.§ 

They  were  wrong  to  fly  from  tyranny,  for  the  people  began 
to  brave  it.     Fermentation  had  succeeded  to  discontent.     It 


*  Neal,  ii.,  110. 
§  Neal,  ii.,  237. 
(1733),  i.,  206. 


t  lb.,  186.  X  Rushworth,  i.,  2,  409. 

Walpole,  Catalo«fue  of  Royal  and  Noble  Authors 


was  no  longer  merely  the  re-establishment  of  legal  order,  nor- 
even  the  abolition  of  episcopacy,  that  men's  thoughts  limited 
themselves  to.  In  the  shadow  of  the  great  party  which  medi- 
tated this  double  reform,  a  number  of  more  ardent,  more  daring 
sects  were  growing  up.  On  all  sides,  small  congregations 
detached  themselves  from  the  church,  taking  as  their  symbol 
some  such  or  such  interpretation  of  a  dogma ;  some  the  re- 
jection of  such  or  such  a  rite ;  some  the  destruction  of  all 
ecclesiastical  government,  the  absolute  independence  of  the 
faithful,  and  the  having  recourse  alone  to  the  inspiration  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  Everywhere  passion  mastered  fear.  Notwith- 
standing the  active  inquisition  of  Laud,  sects  of  all  descriptions 
assembled,  in  towns,  in  some  cellar  ;  in  the  country,  under  the 
roof  of  a  barn,  or  in  the  midst  of  a  wood.  The  dismal  cha- 
racter of  the  locality,  their  perils  and  difficulties  in  meeting, 
all  excited  the  imagination  of  preachers  and  hearers  ;  they 
passed  together  long  hours,  often  whole  nights,  praying,  singing 
hymns,  seeking  the  Lord,  and  cursing  their  enemies.  Of 
little  import  to  the  safety,  or  even  to  the  credit  of  these  fanatic 
associations,  was  the  senselessness  of  their  doctrines,  or  the 
small  number  of  their  partisans  ;  they  were  sheltered  and  pro- 
tected by  the  general  resentment  that  had  taken  possession  of 
the  country.  In  a  short  time,  whatever  their  appellation,  their 
creed,  or  their  designs,  the  confidence  of  the  nonconformists  in 
public  favor  became  so  great,  that  they  did  not  hesitate  to  dis- 
tinguish themselves  by  their  dress  and  their  manners,  thus 
professing  their  opinions  before  the  very  eyes  of  their  perse- 
cutors. Clothed  in  black,  the  hair  cut  close,  the  head  covered 
with  a  high-crowned,  wide-brimmed  hat,  they  were  everywhere 
objects  of  respect  to  the  multitude,  who  gave  them  the  name 
of  saints.  Their  credit  augmented  to  such  a  degree,  that 
notwithstanding  the  persecution  which  followed  them,  even 
hypocrisy  declared  on  their  side.  Bankrupt  merchants,  work- 
men without  employment,  men  rendered  outcasts  by  debauch- 
ery and  debts,  whoever  needed  to  raise  his  character  in  the 
estimation  of  the  public,  assumed  the  dress,  air,  and  language 
of  the  saints,  and  at  once  obtained,  from  a  passionate  credulity, 
welcome  and  protection.*  In  political  matters  the  efferves- 
cence, though  less  general,  less  disorderly,  daily  extended. 

*  Mrs.  Hutchinson's  Memoirs. 
8 


86 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH  REVOLUTION. 


87 


li 


Among  the  inferior  classes,  the  effect  either  of  their  bettered 
means,  or  of  religious  opinions,  ideas  and  desires  of  equality, 
till  then  unknown,  began  to  circulate.  In  a  more  elevated 
sphere,  some  proud  and  rugged  minds,  detesting  the  court, 
despising  the  impotency  of  the  ancient  laws,  and  giving  them- 
selves  up  passionately  to  their  soaring  thoughts,  dreamed,  in 
the  solitude  of  their  reading,  or  the  secresy  of  their  private 
conversations,  of  more  simple  and  efficacious  institutions. 
Others,  influenced  by  aims  less  pure,  indifferent  to  all  creeds, 
profligate  in  their  manners,  and  thrown  by  their  humor  or  by 
chance  among  the  discontented,  desired  an  anarchy  which 
would  make  way  for  their  ambition,  or  at  all  events  free  them 
from  all  restraint.  Fanaticism  and  licentiousness,  sincerity 
and  hypocrisy,  respect  and  contempt  for  old  institutions,  le- 
gitimate wishes,  and  disorderly  aspirations — all  these  concurred 
to  foment  the  national  anger ;  all  rallied  together  against  a 
power  whose  tyranny  inspired  with  the  same  hatred  men  of 
the  most  various  feelings  and  views,  while  its  imprudence  and 
weakness  gave  activity  and  hope  to  the  meanest  factions,  to 
the  most  daring  dreams. 

For  some  time  this  progress  of  public  indignation  passed 
unperceived  by  the  king  and  his  council ;  apart,  as  it  were, 
from  the  nation,  and  meeting  with  no  effectual  resistance,  the 
government,  notwithstanding  its  embarrassments,  was  still 
confident  and  haughty.  To  justify  its  conduct,  it  often  spoke, 
and  with  marked  emphasis,  of  the  bad  spirit  that  was  abroad ; 
but  its  momentary  doubts  did  not  awaken  its  prudence ;  while 
it  feared,  it  despised  its  enemies.  Even  the  necessity  of  making, 
day  after  day,  its  oppression  still  more  and  more  oppressive, 
did  not  enlighten  it ;  nay,  with  an  imbecile  pride,  it  regarded 
as  manifestations  of  power  the  additional  rigor  which  the  in- 
creasing peril  obliged  it  to  put  in  force. 

In  1636,  England  was  inundated  with  pamphlets  against  the 
favor  shown  to  the  papists,  the  disorders  of  the  court,  above 
all,  against  the  tyranny  of  Laud  and  the  bishops.  Already 
more  than  once  the  star-chamber  had  severely  punished  such 
publications,  but  never  before  had  they  been  so  numerous,  so 
violent,  so  diffused,  so  eagerly  sought  for  as  now.  They  were 
spread  through  every  town,  they  found  their  way  to  the  re- 
motest villages ;  daring  smugglers  brought  thousands  of  copies 
from  Holland,  realizing  a  large  profit ;  they  were  commented 


on  in  the  churches,  which  Laud  had  not  been  able  entirely  to  * 
clear  of  puritan  preachers.  Incensed  at  the  inefficacy  of  its 
ordinary  severities,  the  council  resolved  to  try  others.  A 
lawyer,  a  theologian,  and  a  physician,  Prynne,  Burton,  and 
Bastwick,  were  brought  at  the  same  time  before  the  star- 
chamber.  The  government  at  first  wished  to  try  them  for  high 
treason,  which  would  have  involved  capital  punishment ;  but 
the  judges  declared  there  were  no  means  of  straining  the  law 
so  far,  so  that  they  were  fain  to  content  themselves  with  a 
charge  of  petty  treason  or  felony.* 

The  iniquity  of  the  proceedings  quite  matched  the  barbarity 
of  the  sentence.  The  accused  were  summoned  to  make  their 
defence  forthwith,  or  that  the  allegations  would  be  held  as 
admitted.  They  answered  they  could  not  write  it,  for  that 
paper,  ink,  and  pens  had  been  denied  them.  These  were 
supplied,  with  an  order  to  have  their  defence  signed  by  a 
barrister  ;  and  yet  for  several  days  access  to  the  prison  was 
refused  to  the  barrister  they  had  selected.  Admitted  at  last, 
he  refused  to  sign  the  paper,  fearing  to  compromise  himself 
with  the  court ;  and  no  other  counsel  would  undertake  it.  They 
asked  permission  to  give  in  their  defence  signed  by  themselves. 
The  court  rejected  the  application,  with  the  intimation  that 
without  a  barrister's  signature,  they  should  consider  the  im- 
puted offences  proved.  "  My  lords,"  said  Prynne,  "  you  ask 
an  impossibility."  The  court  merely  repeated  its  declaration. 
The  trial  opened  with  a  gross  insult  to  one  of  the  prisoners. 
Four  years  before,  for  another  pamphlet,  Prynne  had  been 
condemned  to  have  his  ears  cut  off.  "  I  had  thought,"  said 
lord  Finch,  looking  at  him,  "  Mr.  Prynne  had  no  ears ;  but 
methinks  he  hath  ears."  This  caused  many  of  the  lords  to 
take  a  closer  view  of  him,  and  for  their  better  satisfaction  the 
usher  of  the  court  turned  up  his  hair  and  showed  his  ears, 
upon  the  sight  whereof  the  lords  were  displeased  they  had 
been  no  more  cut  oflf,  and  reproached  him.  "  I  hope  your 
honors  will  not  be  offended,"  said  Prynne  ;  "  pray  God  give 
you  ears  to  hear."f 

They  were  sentenced  to  the  pillory,  to  lose  their  ears,  to 
pay  5000Z.  and  to  perpetual  imprisonment.  On  the  day  of 
the  sentence  (June  30),  an  immense  crowd  pressed  round  the 


•  Rushworth,  i.,  2,  324. 


t  State  Trials,  iii.,  711. 


lip 


i' 


88 


HISTORY   OP   THE 


/ 


pillory  ;  the  executioner  wanted  to  keep  them  off:  "  Let  them 
come,  and  spare  not,"  said  Burton  ;  "  that  they  may  learn  to 
suffer  ;"  the  man  was  moved,  and  did  not  insist.*  "  Sir," 
said  a  woman  to  Burton,  "  by  this  sermon,  God  may  convert 
many  unto  him."  He  answered,  "  God  is  able  to  do  it,  in- 
deed !"t  A  young  man  turned  pale,  as  he  looked  at  him : 
'<  Son,  son,"  said  Burton  to  him,  "  what  is  the  matter,  you 
look  so  pale  ?  I  have  as  much  comfort  as  my  heart  can  hold, 
and  if  I  had  need  of  more  I  should  have  it."t  The  crowd 
pressed  nearer  and  nearer  round  the  condemned  ;  some  one 
gave  Bastwick  a  bunch  of  flowers  ;  a  bee  settled  on  it :  "  Do 
ye  not  see  this  poor  bee,"  said  he,  "  she  hath  found  out  this 
very  place  to  suck  sweet  from  these  flowers ;  and  cannot  I 
suck  sweetness  in  this  very  place  from  Christ  ?"§  "  Had  we 
respected  our  liberties,"  said  Prynne,  "  we  had  not  stood  here 
at  this  time  ;  it  was  for  the  general  good  and  liberties  of  you 
all  that  we  have  now  thus  far  engaged  our  own  liberties  in 
this  cause.  For  did  you  know  how  deeply  they  have  en- 
croached  on  your  liberties,  if  you  knew  but  into  what  times 
you  are  cast,  it  would  make  you  look  about,  and  see  how  far 
your  liberty  did  lawfully  extend,  and  so  maintain  it."||  The 
air  rang  with  solemn  acclamations. 

Some  months  after  (April  18),  the  same  scenes  were  re- 
newed around  the  scaffold  where,  for  the  same  cause,  Lilbume 
was  undergoing  a  like  cruel  treatment.  The  enthusiasm  of 
the  sufferer  and  the  people  seemed  even  still  greater.  Tied 
to  a  cart's  tail  and  whipped  through  the  streets  of  Westmin- 
ster,  Lilburne  never  ceased  from  exhorting  the  multitude  that 
closely  followed  him.  When  bound  to  the  pillory,  he  con- 
tinued to  speak ;  he  was  ordered  to  be  silent,  but  in  vain  ; 
they  gagged  him.  He  then  drew  from  his  pockets  pamphlets, 
which  he  threw  to  the  people,  who  seized  them  with  avidity ; 
his  hands  were  then  tied.  Motionless  and  silent,  the  crowd 
who  had  heard  him  remained  to  gaze  upon  him.  Some  of 
his  judges  were  at  a  window,  as  if  curious  to  see  how  far  his 
perseverance  would  go  ;  he  exhausted  their  curiosity  .IT 

As  yet  the  martyrs  had  been  only  men  of  the  people  ;  none 
of  them  distinguished  by  name,  talents,  or  fortune  ;  most  of 
them,  indeed,  before  their  trial,  were  of  but  little  considera- 

♦  State  Trials,  iii.,  751.  t  lb.,  753.  t  lb.,  752. 

§  lb.,  751.  II  lb.,  748.  IT  State  Trials,  1315,  et  seq. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


89 


tion  in  their  profession  ;  and  the  opinions  they  maintained 
were,  chiefly,  those  of  the  fanatic  sects,  which  were  popular 
more  especially  with  the  multitude.  Proud  of  their  courage, 
the  people  soon  charged  the  higher  classes  with  weakness  and 
apathy :  "  Honor,"  said  they,  "  that  did  use  to  reside  in  the 
head,  is  now,  like  the  gout,  got  into  the  foot."*  But  it  was 
not  so :  the  country  nobles  and  gentlemen,  and  the  higher 
class  of  citizens,  were  no  less  irritated  than  the  people ;  but 
more  clear-sighted  and  less  enthusiastic,  they  waited  for  some 
great  occasion  giving  well-grounded  expectation  of  success. 
This  public  cry  aroused  them,  and  inspired  them  with  confi- 
dence. The  time  had  come  when  the  nation,  thoroughly  ex- 
cited, only  needed  known,  steady,  influential  leaders,  who 
would  resist,  not  as  adventurers  or  mere  sectaries,  but  in  the 
name  of  the  rights  and  interests  of  the  whole  country. 

A  gentleman  of  Buckinghamshire,  John  Hampden,  gave 
the  signal  for  this  national  resistance.  Before  him,  indeed, 
several  had  attempted  it,  but  unsuccessfully  ;  they,  like  him, 
had  refused  to  pay  the  impost  called  ship  money,  requiring  to 
have  the  question  brought  before  the  court  of  king's  bench, 
and  that  they  should  be  allowed,  in  a  solemn  trial,  to  maintain 
their  opinion  of  the  illegality  of  the  tax,  and  the  legality  of 
their  refusal  to  pay  it ;  but  the  court  had  hitherto  always 
found  means  to  elude  the  discussion  ;f  Hampden  enforced  it. 
Though  in  1626  and  1628  he  had  sat  in  parliament  on  the 
benches  of  the  opposition,  he  had  not  attracted  any  peculiar 
suspicion  on  the  part  of  the  court.  Since  the  last  dissolution, 
he  had  lived  tranquilly,  sometimes  on  his  estates,  sometimes 
travelling  over  England  and  Scotland,  everywhere  attentively 
observing  the  state  of  men's  minds,  and  forming  numerous 
connexions,  but  giving  no  utterance  to  his  own  feelings.  Pos- 
sessing a  large  fortune,  he  enjoyed  it  honorably,  and  without 
display  ;  of  grave  and  simple  manners,  but  without  any  show 
of  austerity,  remarkable  for  his  affability  and  the  serenity  of 
his  temper,  he  was  respected  by  all  his  neighbors,  of  whatever 
party,  and  passed  among  them  for  a  sensible  i?ian,  opposed  to 
the  prevalent  system,  but  not  fanatic  or  factious.  The  magis- 
trates of  the  country,  accordingly,  without  fearing,  spared 

*  A  saying  related  in  a  letter  of  lord  Haughton  to  sir  Thomas  Went- 
worth,  dated  May  19th,  1627.  Strafford's  Letters  and  Despatches,  i.,  38. 
t  Rushworth,  i.,  2,  323,  414,  &c. 

8* 


m 


90 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


91 


■11 


ii^i 


him.  In  1636,  in  their  assessment,  they  rated  Hampden  at 
the  trifling  sum  of  twenty  shillings,  intending  without  doubt 
to  let  him  off*  easy,  and  also  hoping  that  the  smallness  of  the 
rate  would  prevent  a  prudent  man  from  disputing  it.  Hamp- 
den refused  to  pay  it,  but  without  passion,  or  noise ;  solely 
intent  upon  bringing  to  a  solemn  judicial  decision,  in  his  own 
person,  the  rights  of  his  country.  In  prison,  his  conduct  was 
equally  quiet  and  reserved ;  he  only  required  to  be  brought 
before  the  judges,  and  represented  that  the  king  was  no  less 
interested  than  himself  in  having  such  a  question  settled  by 
the  laws.  The  king,  full  of  confidence,  having  recently  ob- 
tained from  the  judges  the  declaration,  that,  in  case  of  urgent 
necessity,  and  for  the  security  of  the  kingdom,  this  tax  might 
be  legally  imposed,  was,  at  last,  persuaded  to  allow  Hampden 
the  honor  of  fighting  the  case.  Hampden's  counsel  managed 
the  affair  with  the  same  prudence  that  he  himself  had  shown, 
speaking  of  the  king  and  his  prerogative  with  profound 
respect,  avoiding  all  declamation,  all  hazardous  principles, 
resting  solely  on  the  laws  and  history  of  the  country.*  One 
of  them,  Mr.  Holborne,  even  checked  himself  several  times, 
begging  the  court  to  forgive  him  the  warmth  of  his  arguments, 
and  to  warn  him  if  he  passed  the  limits  which  decorum  and 
law  prescribed.  The  crown  lawyers,  themselves,  praised  Mr. 
Hampden  for  his  moderation.  During  the  thirteen  days  the 
trial  lasted,  amid  all  the  public  irritation,  the  fundamental 
laws  of  the  country  were  debated  without  the  defenders  of 
public  liberty  once  laying  themselves  open  to  any  charge  of 
passion,  any  suspicion  of  seditious  design. f 

Hampden  was  condemned  (June  12),  only  four  judges 
voting  in  his  favor.:}:  The  king  congratulated  himself  on  this 
decision,  as  the  decisive  triumph  of  arbitrary  power.  The 
people  took  the  same  view  of  it,  and  no  longer  hoped  aught 

*  Rushworth,  i.,  2,  352  ;  State  Trials,  iii.,  S25. 

t  State  Trials,  iii.,  846-1254. 

X  Sir  Humphrey  Davenport,  sir  John  Denham,  sir  Richard  Hutton, 
and  sir  George  Crooke.  Contrary  to  the  general  assertion,  Mr.  Lin- 
gard  says  that  five  judges  declared  in  favor  of  Hampden.  Hist,  of 
England,  1825,  x.,  33.  His  error  evidently  arises  from  his  having 
reckoned  for  two  voices,  the  two  opinions  given  in  favor  of  Hampden 
by  Judge  Crooke,  which  are  both  inserted  in  the  trial.  (State  Trials, 
iii.,  1127-1181.)  In  1645,  the  son  of  Judge  Hutton  was  killed  at  Sher- 
burne for  the  royal  cause. 


from  the  magistrates  or  the  laws.  Charles  had  but  small  cause 
for  rejoicing:  the  people,  in  losing  hope,  gained  courage. 
Discontent,  hitherto  deficient  in  cohesion,  became  unanimous  : 
gentlemen,  citizens,  farmers,  tradespeople,  presbyterians,  sec- 
tarians, the  whole  nation  felt  itself  wounded  by  this  decision.* 
The  name  of  Hampden  was  in  every  mouth,  pronounced  with 
tenderness  and  pride,  for  his  destiny  was  the  type  of  his  con- 
duct, his  conduct  the  glory  of  the  country.  The  friends  and 
partizans  of  the  court  scarcely  dared  to  maintain  the  legality 
of  its  victory.  The  judges  excused  themselves,  almost  con- 
fessing their  cowardice,  to  obtain  forgiveness.  The  more 
peaceful  citizens  were  sorrowfully  silent ;  the  bolder  spirits 
expressed  their  indignation  aloud,  with  secret  satisfaction. 
Soon,  both  in  London  and  the  provinces,  the  discontented 
found  leaders  who  met  to  talk  of  the  future.  Everywhere 
measures  were  taken  to  concert  with  and  uphold  each  other 
in  case  of  necessity.  In  a  word,  a  party  was  formed,  care- 
fully concealing  itself  as  such,  but  publicly  avowed  by  the 
nation.  The  king  and  his  council  were  still  rejoicing  over 
their  last  triumph,  when  already  their  adversaries  had  found 
the  occasion  and  the  means  to  act. 

About  a  month  afler  Hampden's  condemnation  (July  23), 
a  violent  sedition  broke  out  at  Edinburgh.  It  was  excited  by 
the  arbitrary  and  sudden  introduction  of  a  new  liturgy. 
Since  his  accession,  after  the  example  of  his  father,  Charles 
had  incessantly  been  endeavoring  to  overthrow  the  republican 
constitution  which  the  Scottish  church  had  borrowed  from 
Calvinism,  and  to  re-establish  Scottish  episcopacy,  the  outlme 
of  which  still  existed,  in  the  plenitude  of  its  authority  and 
splendor.  Fraud,  violence,  threats,  corruption,  everythmg 
had  been  essayed  to  procure  success  for  this  design.  Despot- 
ism had  even  shown  itself  supple  and  patient ;  it  had  addressed 
itself  sometimes  to  the  ambition  of  the  ecclesiastics,  sometimes 
to  the  interest  of  the  small  landed  proprietors,  offering  to  the 
latter  an  easy  redemption  of  their  tithes,  to  the  former  high 
church  dignities  and  honorable  oflSces  in  the  state,  always 
advancing  towards  its  object,  yet  contenting  itself  with  a  slow 
and  tortuous  progress.  From  time  to  time  the  people  became 
more  and  more  alarmed,  and  the  national  clergy  resisted  ;  its 

♦  May,  passim.     Hocket,  Life  of  Bishop  Williams,  part  2,  p.  127. 


I   li": 


92 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


assemblies  were  then  suspended,  its  boldest  preachers  banished. 
The  parliament,  generally  servile,  sometimes  hesitated  ;  the 
elections  were  then  interfered  with,  their  debates  stifled,  even 
their  votes  falsified.*  The  Scottish  church,  in  the  course  of 
struggles  wherein  victory  always  declared  for  the  crown, 
passed  by  degrees  under  the  yoke  of  a  hierarchy  and  disci 
pline,  nearly  conformable  with  that  of  the  English  church, 
and  which  regarded  as  equally  sacred  the  absolute  power  and 
the  divine  right  of  bishops  and  of  the  king.  In  1636,  the  work 
seemed  all  but  completed  ;  the  bishops  had  recovered  their 
jurisdiction  ;  the  archbishop  of  St.  Andrew's  (Spottiswood^ 
was  chancellor  of  the  kingdom,  the  bishop  of  Ross  (Maxwell) 
on  the  point  of  becoming  high  treasurer  ;  out  of  fourteen  pre- 
lates, nine  had  seats  in  the  privy  council,  and  preponderated 
there.f  Charles  and  Laud  thought  the  time  had  come  for 
consummating  the  matter  by  imposing  upon  this  church,  with- 
out consulting  either  clergy  or  people,  a  code  of  canons,  and 
a  mode  of  worship,  in  accordance  with  its  new  condition. 

But  the  reformation  had  not  been  in  Scotland,  as  in  Eng- 
land, born  of  the  will  of  the  prince  and  the  servility  of  the 
court.  Popular  from  its  commencement,  it  had,  by  its  own 
strength,  and  in  spite  of  all  obstacles,  mounted  to  the  throne 
instead  of  descending  from  it.  No  difference  of  system, 
situation,  or  intei*ests  had,  from  the  outset,  divided  its  parti- 
sans ;  and  in  the  course  of  a  long  struggle,  they  had  accus- 
tomed themselves,  by  turns,  to  brave  and  to  wield  power. 
The  Scottish  preachers  might  boast  of  having  raised  the 
nation,  sustained  civil  war,  dethroned  a  queen,  and  ruled 
their  king  till  the  day  when,  ascending  a  foreign  throne,  he 
escaped  from  their  empire.  Strong  in  this  union,  and  in  the 
remembrance  of  so  many  victories,  they  boldly  mixed  toge- 
ther, in  their  sermons  as  in  their  private  thoughts,  politics  and 
religion,  the  affairs  of  the  country  and  religious  controversies  ; 
and  from  the  pulpit  censured  by  name  the  king's  ministers 
and  their  own  parishioners  alike  freely.  The  people,  in  such 
a  school,  had  acquired  the  same  audacity  of  mind  and  speech  ; 
owing  to  themselves  alone  the  triumph  of  the  reformation, 
they  cherished  it  not  only  as  their  creed,  but  also  as  the  work 
of  their  hands.     They   held   as   a   fundamental   maxim  the 

♦  Burnet's  Own  Times  ;  Laing,  Hist,  of  Scotland,  iii.,  110. 


\v 


t  Lain 


2,  iii..  122. 


'o» 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


93 


spiritual  independence  of  their  church,  not  the  religious  supre- 
macy of  the  monarch,  and  thought  themselves  in  a  position, 
as  well  as  called  upon  by  duty,  to  protect  against  popery, 
royalty,  and  episcopacy,  that  which  alone  it  had  set  up  against 
them.  The  preponderance  given  to  their  kings,  by  their 
elevation  to  the  throne  of  England,  for  awhile  abated  their 
courage  ;  hence  the  success  of  James  against  those  presbyte- 
rian  doctrines  and  institutions,  which,  as  simple  king  of  Scot- 
land, he  had  been  fain  submit  to.  Kings  are  easily  deceived 
by  the  apparent  servility  of  nations.  Scotland  intimidated, 
seemed  to  Charles,  Scotland  subdued.  By  the  aid  of  his  su- 
premacy and  of  episcopacy,  he  had  kept  under  in  England 
the  popular  reformation  which  had  always  been  successfully 
contested  by  his  predecessors  ;  he  thought  he  could  destroy  it 
in  Scotland,  where  it  had  reigned,  where  it  was  alone  legally 
constituted,  where  the  supremacy  of  the  throne  was  only 
acknowledged  by  the  bishops  themselves,  barely  able  to  retain 
their  own  position  by  its  support. 

The  attempt  had  that  issue  which  has  oflen,  in  similar  cases, 
been  the  astonishment  and  sorrow  of  the  servants  of  despotism : 
it  failed  at  the  point  of  apparent  success.  The  re-establishment 
of  episcopacy,  the  abolition  of  the  ancient  laws,  the  suspension 
or  corruption  of  political  and  religious  assemblies,  all  that  could 
be  done  out  of  sight,  as  it  were,  of  the  people,  had  been  done. 
But  the  instant  that,  to  complete  the  work,  it  became  necessary 
to  change  the  form  of  public  worship,  on  the  very  day  of  the 
introduction  of  the  new  liturgy  into  the  cathedral  of  Edin- 
burgh, all  was  over.  In  a  few  weeks,  a  sudden  and  universal 
rising  brought  to  Edinburgh*  (Oct.  18,  1637),  from  all  parts 
of  the  kingdom,  an  immense  multitude,  landholders,  farmers, 
citizens,*  tradesmen,  peasants,  who  came  to  protest  against  the 
innovations  with  which  their  worship  was  threatened,  and  to 
back  their  protest  by  their  presence.  They  crowded  the  houses 
and  streets,  encamped  at  the  gates  and  beneath  the  walls  of  the 
town,  besieged  the  hall  of  the  privy  council,  who  vainly  de- 
manded assistance  from  the  municipal  council,  itself  besieged, 
insulted  the  bishops  as  they  passed,  and  drew  up,  in  the  High- 
street,  an  accusation  of  tyranny  and  idolatry  against  them, 
which  was  signed  by  ecclesiastics,  gentlemen,  and  even  by 
some  lords.f     The  king,  without  answering  their  complaints, 


Rush  worth,  i.,  2,  404. 


t  Neal,  ii.,  274  ;  Laing,  iii.,  136. 


ii| 


94 


HISTORY  OF   THE 


ENGLISH  REVOLUTION. 


95 


ordered  the  petitioners  to  return  home  ;  they  obeyed,  less  from 
submission  than  from  necessity;  and  returned  in  a  month 
(Nov.  15)  more  numerous  than  before.  This  second  time 
there  was  no  disorder,  their  passion  was  grave  and  silent ;  the 
upper  classes  had  engaged  in  the  quarrel  ;  in .  a  fortnight,  a 
regular  organization  of  resistance  was  proposed,  adopted,  and 
put  in  action  ;  a  superior  council,  elected  from  the  different 
ranks  of  citizens,  was  charged  to  prosecute  the  general  enter- 
prise ;  in  every  county,  in  every  town,  subordinate  councils 
executed  its  instructions.  The  insurrection  had  disappeared, 
ready  to  rise  at  the  voice  of  the  government  it  had  given  itself. 
Charles  at  last  replied  *  (Dec.  7),  but  only  to  confirm  the 
liturgy,  and  to  forbid  the  petitioners  to  assemble,  under  the 
penalties  of  treason.  The  Scottish  council  were  ordered  to 
keep  the  royal  proclamation  secret,  until  the  moment  of  its 
publication  ;  but  ere  it  reached  Scotland,  the  leaders  of  the  in- 
surrection already  knew  its  contents.  They  immediately  con- 
voked the  people,  to  support  their  representatives.  The  council, 
to  anticipate  them,  at  once  published  the  proclamation  (Feb. 
19,  1638).  At  the  same  moment,  on  the  very  footsteps  of  the 
king's  heralds,  two  peers  of  the  realm,  lord  Hume  and  lord 
Lindsay,  caused  a  protest,  which  they  had  signed,  to  be  pro- 
claimed and  placarded  in  the  name  of  their  fellow-citizens. 
Others  performed  the  same  office  in  every  place  where  the 
king's  proclamation  was  read.  Every  day  more  excited,  more 
menaced,  more  united,  the  insurgents  at  last  resolved  to  bind 
themselves  by  a  solemn  league,  similar  to  those  which,  since 
the  origin  of  the  reformation,  Scotland  had  several  times 
adopted,  in  order  to  set  forth  and  maintain  before  all  men  their 
rights,  their  faith,  aad  their  wishes.  Alexander  Henderson, 
the  most  influential  of  the  ecclesiastics,  and  Archibald  John- 
ston, afterwards  lord  Warriston,  a  celebrated  advocate,  drew 
up  this  league  under  the  popular  name  of  Covenant ;  it  was 
revised  and  approved  of  by  the  lords  Balmerino,  Loudon,  and 
Rothes  (March  1,  1638).  It  contained,  besides  a  minute  and 
already  ancient  profession  of  faith,  the  formal  rejection  of  the 
new  canons  and  liturgy,  and  an  oath  of  national  union  to  defend, 
against  every  danger,  the  sovereign,  the  religion,  the  laws  and 
liberties  of  the  country.    It  was  no  sooner  proposed  than  it  was 

♦  Rushworth,  i.,  2,  408. 


received  with  universal  transport.  Messengers,  relieving  each 
other  from  village  to  village,  carried  it,  with  incredible  rapidity, 
to  the  most  remote  parts  of  the  kingdom,  as  the  fiery  cross  was 
borne  over  the  mountains  to  call  to  war  all  the  vassals  of  the 
same  chieftain.*  Gentlemen,  clergy,  citizens,  laborers,  wo- 
men, children,  all  assembled  in  crowds  in  the  churches,  in  the 
streets,  to  swear  fealty  to  the  covenant.  Even  the  highlanders, 
seized  with  the  national  impulse,  forgot  for  a  moment  their  pas- 
sionate loyalty  and  fierce  animosity  to  the  lowlanders,  and 
joined  the  insurgents.  In  less  than  six  weeks,  all  Scotland  was 
confederated  under  the  law  of  the  covenant.  The  persons  em- 
ployed by  government,  a  few  thousand  catholics,  and  the  town 
of  Aberdeen,  alone  refused  to  join  it. 

So  much  daring  astonished  Charles  :  he  had  been  told  of  in- 
sane riots  by  a  miserable  rabble ;  the  municipal  council  of 
Edinburgh  had  even  come  forward  humbly  to  solicit  his  cle- 
mency, promising  the  prompt  chastisement  of  the  factious ;  and 
his  Scottish  courtiers  boasted  daily  of  learning,  by  their  corre- 
spondence, that  all  was  quiet,  or  nearly  so.f  Incensed  at  the 
powerlessness  of  his  will,  he  resolved  to  have  recourse  to  force ; 
but  nothing  was  ready  ;  it  was  necessary  to  gain  time.  The 
marquis  of  Hamilton  was  sent  to  Scotland,  instructed  to  flatter 
the  rebels  with  some  hope,  but  not  to  say  anything  binding  the 
king  or  to  come  to  any  settlement.     Twenty  thousand  cove- 

*  When  a  chief  wished  to  assemble  his  clan  on  any  sudden  and  im- 
portant occasion,  he  killed  a  goat,  made  a  cross  of  some  light  wood,  set 
the  four  ends  of  it  on  fire,  and  then  extinguished  them  in  the  blood  of 
the  goat.  The  cross  was  called  the  fiery  cross,  or  the  cross  of  shame  ; 
because  he  who  refused  to  obey  the  token  was  declared  infamous.  The 
cross  was  given  into  the  hands  of  a  quick  and  trusty  messenger,  who, 
running  rapidly  to  the  nearest  hamlet,  transferred  it  to  the  principal 
person,  without  uttering  any  other  word  than  the  name  of  the  place  of 
rendezvous.  The  new  messenger  forwarded  it  with  equsd  promptitude 
to  the  next  village  ;  it  thus  went,  with  amazing  celerity,  over  the  whole 
district  dependent  on  the  same  chief ;  and  passed  on  to  those  of  his 
allies,  if  the  danger  was  common  to  them.  At  the  sight  of  the  fiery 
cross,  every  man  from  sixteen  to  sixty,  capable  of  bearing  arms,  was 
obliged  to  take  his  best  weapons  and  his  best  accoutrements,  and  to 
proceed  to  the  place  of  rendezvous.  He  who  failed  in  this,  was  liable 
to  have  his  lands  devastated  by  fire  and  blood  ;  a  peril  of  which  the  fiery 
cross  was  the  emblem.  In  the  civil  war  of  1745,  the  fiery  cross  was 
often  in  circulation  in  Scotland  ;  once  in  particular,  it  travelled  in  three 
hours  the  whole  district  of  Breadalbane,  about  thirty  miles.  This  cus- 
tom existed  in  most  of  the  Scandinavian  nations. 

t  Clarendon,  i. 


96 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


97 


ill 


I 


nanters,  assembled  at  Edinburgh  for  a  solemn  fast,  went  to 
meet   Hamilton   (June,    1638);    seven   hundred  clergymen, 
dressed  in  their  robes,  stood  on  an  eminence  by  the  road  side, 
singing  a  psalm  as  he  passed.*    The  party  wished  to  give  the 
marquis  a  high  idea  of  its  strength ;  and  Hamilton,  as  well  to 
preserve  his  "credit  with  the  country  as  to  obey  the  instruc- 
tions  of  his  master,  was  inclined  to  seem  conciliatory.     But 
the  concessions  he  proposed  were  deemed  insufficient  and  de- 
ceitful ;  a  royal  covenant  he  attempted  to  set  up,  in  opposition 
to  the  popular  covenant,  was  rejected  with  derision.     After 
several  useless  interviews,  and  several  journeys  from  Edin- 
burgh  to  London,  he  suddenly  (Sept.)  received  from  the  king 
orders  to  grant  to  the  insurgents  all  their  demands  ;  the  aboli- 
tion  of  the  canons,  of  the  liturgy,  and  of  the  court  of  high  com- 
mission  ;  the  promise  of  an  assembly  of  the  kirk,  and  of  a  par- 
liament in  which  all  questions  should  be  freely  debated,  and  in 
which  even  the  bishops  might  be  impeached.    The  Sco's  were 
at  once  rejoiced,  and  utterly  amazed  ;  but  still  mistrustful,  and 
the  more  so  from  the  care  taken  to  remove  every  pretext  for 
their  longer  confederating.     The  general  synod  assembled  at 
Glasgow  (Nov.  21).     It  soon  perceived  that  Hamilton's  only 
object  was  to  impede  their  progress,  and  to  introduce  into  its 
acts  some  nullifying  articles.     Such,  in  fact,  were  the  king's 
instructions.!     The  assembly,  however,  proceeded,  and  were 
taking  measures  to  bring  the  bishops  to  trial,  when  Hamilton 
suddenly  pronounced  their  dissolution  (Nov.  28).    At  the  same 
time  they  heard  that  Charles  was  preparing  for  war,  and  that 
a  body  of  troops  levied  in  Ireland,  by  the  exertions  of  Strafford, 
was  on  the  point  of  embarking  for  Scotland.^     Hamilton  de- 
parted  for  London ;   but  the  synod  refused  to  disperse,  con- 
tinned  their  deliberations,  condemned  all  the  royal  innovations, 
asserted    the   covenant,   and  abolished  episcopacy.      Several 
lords,  till  then  neutral  (among  others  the  earl  of  Argyle,  a 
powerful  nobleman,  and  renowned  for  his  wisdom),  openly 
embraced  the  cause  of  their  country.     Scottish  merchants 
went  abroad  to  buy  ammunition  and  arms  ;  the  covenant  was 
sent  to  the  Scottish  troops  serving  on  the  Continent,  and  one  of 
their  best  officers,  Alexander  Leslie,  was  Invited  to  return 
home,  to  take,  in  case  of  need,  the  command  of  the  insurgents. 


•  May,  i.,  40. 

t  Strafford,  ii.,  233,  278, 279. 


t  See  Appendix,  No.  V. 


Finally,  in  the  name  of  the  Scottish  people,  a  declaration  was 
addressed  to  the  English  nation  (Feb.  27),  to  acquaint  them 
with  the  just  grievances  of  their  brother  Christians,  and  to  repel 
the  calumnies  with  which  their  common  enemies  sought  to 
blacken  them  and  their  cause. 

The  court  received  this  declaration  with  ridicule  ;  the  con- 
duct of  the  insurgents  was  laughed  at  there,  as  absurd  inso- 
lence ;  the  only  thing  the  courtiers  professed  to  be  annoyed  at 
was  the  degrading  annoyance  of  having  to  fight  them  ;  for 
what  glory,  what  profit,  could  be  got  by  a  war  with  a  people 
so  poor,  vulgar  and  obscure  ?*     Though  a  Scotchman  himself 
Charles  trusted  that  the  old  hatred  and  contempt  of  the  English 
for  Scotland  would  prcvt^nt  the  covenanters'  complaints  from 
taking  any  effect  upon  men's  minds  in  the  south.     But  the 
faith  which  unites  nations  soon  effaces  the  boundary-line  that 
divides  them.     In  the  cause  of  the  Scots,  the  malcontents  of 
England  ardently  recognized  their  own.     Secret  correspon- 
dence was   rapidly  established   between  the   two  kingdoms. 
The  declarations  of  the  insurgents  were  spread  everywhere  • 
their  grievances,  their  proceedings,  their  hopes,  became  the 
subject  of  popular  conversation  ;  in  a  short  time,  they  acquired 
friends  and  agents  in  London,  in  all  the  counties,  in  the  army, 
even  at  court.     As  soon  as  their  firm  resolution  to  resist  was 
ascertained,  and  that  opinion  in  England  seemed  to  lend  them 
its  support,  there  were  not  wanting  Scotch,  and  even  English 
courtiers,  who,  to  injure  some  rival,  to  revenge  themselves 
for  some  refusal,  to  provide  against  chances,  hastened  to  ren- 
der them,   underhand,  good   service,  sometimes  by  sending 
them   information,  sometimes    by  exaggerating  to  the  other 
courtiers  their  number,  boasting  of  their  discipline,  and  affect- 
ing great  uneasiness  on  the  king's  account,  and  regret  that 
he  should  incur  such  difficulties  and  dangers  from  want  of  a 
little  complaisance.     The   royal   army,  in  its  way  towards 
Scotland,  encountered  a  thousand  reports  spread  on  purpose 
to  intimidate  and  keep  it  back  ;  the  earl  of  Essex,  its  general, 
was  earnestly  advised  to  beware,  to  wait  for  reinforcements  ; 
the  enemy,  it  was  said,  was  much  superior  to  him  ;  they  had 
been«6een  at  such  a  place,  near  the  frontiers  ;  they  occupied 
all  the  fortresses;  even  Berwick  would  be  in  their  hands 


m 


*  May,  i.,  47. 


9 


98 


PISTORY    OF   THE 


before  he  could  arrive  there.  The  earl,  a  scrupulous  and 
faithful  officer,  though  but  little  favorable  to  the  designs  of  the 
court,  continued  his  march,  entered  Berwick  without  obstacle, 
and  soon  found  that  the  troops  of  the  insurgents  were  neither 
so  numerous  nor  so  well  prepared  as  he  had  been  told.  Yet 
these  reports,  as  eagerly  listened  to  as  they  were  carefully 
spread,  did  not  the  less  trouble  men's  minds.*  The  anxiety 
increased  when  the  king  arrived  at  York  (April).  He  went 
there  surrounded  with  extraordinary  pomp,  still  infatuated  with 
the  idea  of  the  irresistible  ascendency  of  royal  majesty,  and 
flattering  himself  that  to  display  it  would  suffice  to  make  the 
rebels  return  to  their  duty.  As  if  to  balance  the  appeal  of 
nation  to  nation,  which  had  been  made  by  Scotland  to  England, 
he,  in  his  turn,  appealed  to  the  nobility  of  his  kingdom,  sum- 
moning  them,  according  to  the  feudal  custom,  to  come  and 
render  him,  on  this  occasion,  the  service  they  owed  him. 

The  lords  and  a  crowd  of  gentlemen  flocked  to  York  as  to 
a  festival.  The  town  and  camp  presented  the  appearance  of 
a  court  and  tournament,  not  at  all  that  of  an  army  and  of 
war.  Charles's  vanity  was  delighted  with  such  display  ;  but 
intrigue,  disorder,  and  insubordination  prevailed  around  him.f 
The  Scots  on  the  frontiers  familiarly  communicated  with  his 
soldiers.  He  wanted  to  exact  from  the  lords  an  oath,  that 
they  would  upon  no  pretext  whatever  keep  up  any  connexion 
with  the  rebels  ;  lord  Brook  and  lord  Say  refused  to  take  it ; 
and  Charles  dared  not  proceed  further  against  them  than  to 
order  them  to  quit  his  court.  Lord  Holland  entered  the 
Scottish  territory,  but  on  seeing  a  body  of  troops  whom  Leslie 
had  skilfully  disposed,  and  whom  the  earl,  without  much 
examination,  considered  more  numerous  than  his  own,  he 
withdrew  with  precipitation. $  Officers  and  soldiers  all  hesi- 
tated  to  commence  a  war  so  generally  anathematized.  The 
Scots,  well  informed  of  what  passed,  took  advantage  of  this 
disposition.  They  wrote  to  the  chiefs  of  the  army,  to  lord 
Essex,  lord  Arundel,  lord  Holland,  in  moderate  and  flattering 
terms,  expressing  an  entire  confidence  in  the  sentiments  of  the 
nobility  as  well  as  of  the  people  of  England,  and  praying 
them  to  interpose  and  obtain  for  them  from  the  king  justice 
and  the  restoration  of  his  favor.^     Soon,  sure  of  being  sup. 

•  Clarendon,  i.    f  lb.,  i.    \  Rushworth,  ii.,  2,  935.    §  Clarendon,  i. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


99 


ported,  they  addressed  the  king  himself,  with  humble  respect, 
but  without  relinquishing  any  of  their  claims.*  Charles,  a 
man  without  energy,  and  as  readily  put  out  by  obstacles  as 
he  was  heedless  before  they  presented  themselves,  felt  alto- 
gether embarrassed.  Conferences  were  opened  (June  ll).f 
The  king  was  haughty,  but  eager  to  conclude  the  matter  ;  the 
Scots  obstinate,  but  not  insolent,  Charles's  pride  was  content 
with  the  humility  of  their  language  ;  and  on  the  18th  of  June, 
1639,  by  the  advice  of  Laud  himself,  uneasy,  it  is  said,  at 
the  approach  of  danger,  a  pacification  was  concluded  at  Ber- 
wick,  under  which  both  armies  were  ordered  to  break  up,  and 
a  synod  and  Scotch  parliament  to  be  shortly  convoked,  but 
without  any  clear  and  precise  treaty  to  put  an  end  to  the 
differences  which  had  given  rise  to  the  war. 

That  war  was  only  adjourned,  and  this  both  parties  equally 
foresaw.      The  Scots,  in  dismissing  their  troops,   gave  the 
officers  an  advance  of  pay,  and  ordered  them  to  hold  them- 
selves constantly  in  readiness.:):      On  bis  side,  Charles  had 
scarcely  disbanded  his  army  before  he  began  secretly  to  levy 
another.     A  month  after  the  pacification  he  sent  for  Strafford 
to  London  to  consult  him,  as  he  said,  on  some  military  plans ; 
and  he  added,   "  I  have  much   more,  and  indeed  too  much 
cause  to  desire  your  counsel  and  attendance  for  some  time, 
which  I  think  not  fit  to  express  by  letter,  more  than  this :  the 
Scots  covenant  begins  to  spread  too  far."§     Strafford  obeyed 
the  summons  instantly.     It  had   long   been  his  most  ardent 
desire  to  be  employed  near  his  master,  the  only  post  in  which 
his  ambition  could  hope  for  the  power  and  glory  it  aimed  at. 
He  arrived,  resolved  to  employ  against  the  adversaries  of  the 
crown  the  whole  of  his  energies  ;  speaking  of  the  Scots  with 
profound    contempt,    asserting    that    irresolution    alone   had 
caused  the  late  failure,  and  yet  so  confident  in  the  firmness  of 
the  king,  that  he  promised  himself  from  it  irresistible  support. 
He  found  the  court  agitated  with  petty  intrigues  ;   the  earl  of 
Essex,  treated  coldly,  notwithstanding  his  good  conduct  in  the 
campaign,  had   retired   in  discontent ;  the  officers  mutually 
accused  each  other  of  incapacity  or  want  of  courage  ;  the 
queen's  favorites  were  eagerly  at  work,  seeking  to  turn  the 
general  embarrassments  to  the  advancement  of  their  own 


♦  Rushworth,  ii.,  2,  938.  f  lb.,  940. 

§  Strafford's  Letters  and  Despatches,  ii.,  372. 


X  Whitelocke,  31. 


100 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


101 


i 


U!} 


i 


fortunes  and  the  downfal  of  their  rivals  ;  the  king  himself  was 
low-spirited  and  anxious.*     Strafford,  however,  soon  felt  ill  at 
ease,  and  unable  to  obtain  the  adoption  of  what  he  judged 
necessary  or  to  carry  out  even  what  he  had  got  adopted. 
The  intrigues  of  the  courtiers  were  soon  directed  against  him. 
He  could  not  prevent  one  of  his  personal  enemies,  sir  Harry 
Vane,  from  being,  through  the  queen's  influence,  elevated  to 
the  rank  of  secretary  of  state. f     The  public,  who  had  wit- 
nessed his  arrival  with  anxiety,  uncertain  what  use  he  would 
make  of  his  power,  soon  learned  that  he  was  urging  the  most 
rigorous  measures,  and  pursued  him  with  their  maledictions.^ 
Matters  became  pressing.     A  dispute  had  arisen  between  the 
king  and  the  Scots,  as  to  the  construction  of  the  treaty  of  Ber- 
wick, of  which  scarcely  anything  had  been  reduced  to  writing  ; 
Charles  had  had  a  paper,  which,  according  to  the  covenanters, 
expressed  its  real  conditions,  burnt  by  the  common  hangman ; 
of  this  the  Scots  now  loudly  complained,  and  the  king  did  not 
care  to  put  forth  anything  in  disproof  of  their  statements,  for 
in  negotiating  he  had  permitted  them  to  hope  that  which  he 
did  not  mean  to  accomplish.^     Irritated  by  this  want  of  faith, 
and  exhorted  by  their  English  friends  to  redouble  their  dis- 
trust, the  synod  and  parliament  of  Scotland,  far  from  yielding 
any  of  their  pretensions,  put  forth  others  still  more  daring. 
The  parliament  demanded  that  the  king  should  be  bound  to 
convoke  them  every  three  years,  that  freedom  of  election  and 
of  speech  should  be  assured  them,  so  that  political  liberty, 
firmly  secured,  might  watch  over  the  maintenance  of  the 
national  faith. ||      The  words,  "attempt  on  the  prerogative," 
"  invaded  sovereignty,"  and  so  on,  now  sounded  more  loudly 
than  ever  at  court  and  in  the  council :  *'  I  wish  these  people," 
said  Strafford,  "  were  well  whipped  into  their  right  senses."ir 
War  was  resolved  upon.     But  how  maintain  it  ?  what  new 
and  plausible  motives  put  forward  to  the  nation  ?     Tlie  public 
treasury  was  empty,  the  king's  private  purse  exhausted,  and 
opinion,  already  sufficiently  powerful  to  make  it  advisable  it 
should  be  heard,  if  not  followed.     The   pretext  sought  for 
offered  itself.     From  the  beginning  of  the  troubles,  cardinal 
Richelieu,  displeased  with  the  English  court,  in  which  Spanish 

•  Clarendon,  i.,  214.  t  Clarendon,  i.,  216.  t  May,  i.,  54,  et  seq. 
§  Clarendon,  i. ;  Rushworth,  ii.,  2,  965.  ||  Rushworth,  i.,  2,  992. 
IT  Strafford's  Letters,  ii.,  138. 


influence  prevailed,  had  been  in  correspondence  with  the 
Scots  ;  he  had  an  agent  among  them,  had  sent  them  money 
and  arms,  and  promised,  in  case  of  need,  greater  assistance. 
A  letter  from  the  principal  covenanters  was  inter(?epted,  bear- 
ing the  address,  *  To  the  king,'  and  evidently  intended  for  the 
king  of  France,  whose  assistance  it  requested.*  Charles  and 
the  council  did  not  doubt  that  this  appeal  to  a  foreign  prince, 
high  treason  by  law,  would  inspire  all  England  with  an 
indignation  equal  to  their  own  ;  this  was  enough,  they  thought, 
to  convince  all  minds  of  the  legitimacy  of  the  war.  In  this 
confidence,  which  served  to  veil  the  hard  yoke  of  necessity, 
the  calling  of  a  new  parliament  was  determined  upon,  and 
meantime,  Strafford  returned  to  Ireland  (March  16,  1640)  to 
obtain  supplies  and  soldiers  from  the  parliament  of  that  king- 
dom also. 

At  the  news  that  a  parliament  was  summoned,  England 
was  astonished  ;  it  had  ceased  to  hope  for  a  legal  reform, 
though  such  was  all  it  had  thought  of.  However  great  its 
discontent,  all  violent  designs  were  foreign  to  the  ideas  of  the 
nation.  Sectarians,  in  some  places  the  multitude,  and  a  few 
men  already  compromised  as  leaders  of  the  nascent  parties, 
alone  fostered  darker  passions  and  more  extended  designs. 
The  public  had  approved  and  upheld  them  in  their  resistance, 
but  without  sharing  in  any  of  their  ulterior  projects,  or  even 
conceiving  their  existence.  Continuous  troubles  had  made 
many  worthy  citizens  doubt,  if  not  as  to  the  lawfulness,  at 
least  as  to  the  propriety  of  the  ardor  and  obstinacy  of  the  last 
parliaments.  They  called  to  mind,  without  blaming,  but  with 
regret,  the  harshness  of  their  language,  the  disorderly  charac- 
ter of  their  excited  debates,  and  all  promised  themselves 
greater  moderation  in  future.  Under  the  influence  of  these 
feelings,  the  constituencies  returned  a  house  of  commons  op- 
posed to  the  court,  resolved  to  have  all  grievances  redressed, 
and  in  which  all  those  men  whose  opposition  had  rendered 
them  popular  took  a  seat,  but  composed,  for  the  most  part,  of 

*  Clarendon,  i. ;  Whitelocke,  32.  See  in  particular  the  pieces  pub- 
lished on  this  subject  by  M.  Mazure,  at  the  end  of  his  Hist,  de  la  Revo- 
lution de  1 GSS,  iii.,  402.  They  evidently  prove,  contrary  to  the  opinion 
of  Hume,  Laing,  Brodie,  &c.,  that  the  letter  of  the  Scottish  chiefs  was 
actually  sent  to  the  king  of  France,  and  that  he  received  it,  though 
Charles  managed  to  intercept  a  copy  of  it. 

9* 


102 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


103 


peaceable  citizens,  free  from  all  party  engagements,  afraid  of 
all  violence,  all  secret  combinations,  and  precipitate  resolu- 
tions, and  flattering  themselves  they  should  reform  abuses 
without  oftending  the  king,  or  hazardmg  the  peace  of  the 

country. 

After  considerable  delay,  which    gave    some    displeasure, 
the  parliament  met  (April  13,  1640).     Charles  had  the  letter 
of  the  Scots  to  the  king  of  France  laid  before  it,  enlarged  upon 
their  treason,  announced  war,  and  demanded  subsidies.     The 
house  of  commons  took  little  notice  of  the  letter,  and  seemed 
to  regard  it  as  an  incident  of  no  importance  compared  with 
the  great  interest  they  had  at  stake.*     This  offended  the  king, 
who  thought  the  house  took  up  his  quarrel  with  too  much  in- 
difference.    On  their  side,  the  house  complained  of  a  certain 
want  of  respect  and  etiquette  towards  their  speaker,  on  the 
day  of  his  presentation  to  the  king.f     The  court,  after  having 
passed  eleven  years  without  a  parliament,  had  some  difficulty 
in  laying   aside  its  scornful  levity  :  and  the  house,  notwith- 
standing their  pacific  intentions,  had  very  naturally  resumed, 
on  their  return  to  Westminster,  the  dignity  of  a  public  power, 
eleven  years  slighted,  and  recalled  from  necessity.     The  de- 
bates soon  assumed  a  grave  character.     The  king  required 
the  house  to  vote  the  subsidies  before  they  proceeded  to  con- 
sider their  grievances,  promising  he  would  let  them  sit  afler- 
wards,  and  listen  with  kindness  to  their  representations.    Long 
discussions  arose  on  this  point,  but  without  violence,  though 
the  sittings  were  attended  with  earnest  assiduity,  and  prolonged 
much  later  than  usual .:f     A  few  bitter  words,  escaping  from 
members  not  much  known,  were  immediately  repressed,  and 
the  speeches  of  several  servants  of  the  crown,  esteemed  in 
other  respects,  met  with  a  favorable   reception. §      But  still 
the   house  showed   a  thorough   determination  to  have  their 
grievances  redressed  before  they  voted  supplies.     In  vain  was 
it  urged  that  war  was  imminent ;  they  cared  little  about  the 
war,  though  they  did  not  say  as  much,  out  of  respect  for  the 
king.     Charles  had  recourse  to  the  interposition  of  the  lords. 
They  voted  that  in  their  opinion  the  subsidies  ought  to  pre- 
cede the  question  of  grievances ;  and  demanded  a  conference 
with  the  commons  to  exhort  them  to  this  procedure. ||     The 


•Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  535.  fib. 

II  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  560;  Clarendon,  i. 


X  Clarendon,  i. 


§Ib. 


commons  accepted  the  conference,  but  voted,  in  their  turn,  on 
re-entering  their  own  chamber,  that  the  resolution  of  the  lords 
was  an  infringement  of  their  privileges,  for  that  they  had  no 
right  to  take  notice  of  supplies  till  they  came  regularly  before 
them.*  Pym,  Hampden,  St.  John,  and  others,  seized  upon 
this  incident  to  inflame  the  house,  whose  intentions  were  more 
moderate  than  suited  its  principles  and  its  position.  It  grew 
agitated,  impatient,  but  still  checking  itself,  though  fully  re- 
solved to  maintain  its  rights.  Time  passed  on  ;  the  king  per- 
mitted himself  to  say  that  this  parliament  would  be  as  intrac- 
table as  its  predecessors.  Already  irritated,  he  sent  a  mes- 
sage to  the  house,  that  if  they  would  grant  him  twelve  subsi- 
dies, payable  in  three  years,  he  would  engage  henceforth 
never  to  levy  ship-money  without  the  consent  of  parliament 
(May  4,  1640). f  The  sum  seemed  enormous  ;  it  was  more, 
they  said,  than  all  the  money  in  the  kingdom.  Besides,  it 
was  not  sufficient  that  the  king  should  give  up  ship-money  ; 
it  was  essential  that,  as  a  principle,  both  as  to  the  past  and  as 
to  the  future,  it  should  be  declared  illegal.  The  house,  how- 
ever, had  no  desire  to  break  entirely  with  the  king ;  it  was 
demonstrated  that  the  amount  of  the  twelve  subsidies  was  not, 
by  a  great  deal,  so  high  as  had  been  at  first  said ;  and  not- 
withstanding their  repugnance  to  suspend  the  examination  of 
grievances,  to  show  their  good  faith  and  loyalty,  they  took  the 
message  into  consideration.  They  were  on  the  point  of  de- 
ciding that  subsidies  should  be  granted  without  fixing  the 
amount,  when  the  secretary  of  state,  sir  Harry  Vane,  rose, 
and  said,  that  unless  the  whole  of  the  message  were  adopted, 
it  was  not  worth  while  to  deliberate,  for  that  the  king  would 
not  accept  less  than  he  had  asked.  The  attorney-general, 
Herbert,  confirmed  Vane's  statement. :f  Astonishment  and 
anger  took  possession  of  the  house  ;  the  most  moderate  were 
struck  with  consternation.  It  was  late,  the  debate  was  ad- 
journed till  the  next  day.  But  on  that  day,  the  moment  the 
commons  assembled,  the  king  summoned  them  to  the  upper 
house  ;  and  three  weeks  afler  its  convocation  parliament  was 
dissolved  (May  5). 

An  hour  after  the  dissolution,  Edward  Hyde,  afterwards 
lord  Clarendon,  met  St.  John,  the  friend  of  Hampden,  and  one 


♦Ib.,ii.,563;  ib.,  i.,231. 
X  Clarendon,  i. 


t  Ib^  ii.,  570;  ib.,  i.,232. 


104 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


105 


of  the  leaders  of  the  opposition,  already  formed  into  a  party. 
Hyde  was  dispirited  ;  St.  John,  on  the  contrary,  though  of  a 
naturally  sombre  countenance,  and  who  was  never  seen  to 
smile,  had  now  a  joyous  look  and  beaming  eyes : — "  What 
disturbs  you  ?"  said  he  to  Hyde.  "  That  which  disturbs 
many  honest  men,"  answered  Hyde,  "  tlie  so  imprudent  dis- 
solution  of  so  sensible  and  moderate  a  parliament,  which, 
in  our  present  disorders,  was  the  only  one  likely  to  apply  a 
remedy."  *'  Ah,  well,"  said  St.  John,  "  before  things  get 
better,  they  must  get  still  worse  ;  this  parliament  would  never 
have  done  what  must  be  done."* 

The  same  day,  in  the  evening,  Charles  was  full  of  regret ; 
the  disposition  of  the  house,  he  said,  had  been  falsely  repre- 
sented to  him  :  he  had  never  authorized  Vane  to  declare  that 
unless  he  had  twelve  subsidies  he  would  accept  of  none. 
Next  day,  too,  he  was  very  uneasy,  and  assembling  a  few 
experienced  men,  asked  whether  the  dissolution  could  not  be 
recalled.  This  was  judged  impossible  ;  and  Charles  returned 
to  despotism,  a  little  more  anxious,  but  as  reckless,  as  haughty, 
as  before  the  attempt  he  had  just  made  to  quit  it. 

The  urgency  of  the  situation  seemed  for  a  moment  to  re- 
store to  his  ministers  some  confidence,  to  their  measures  some 
success  ;  Strafford  had  returned  from  Ireland  (April  4),  suf- 
fering under  a  violent  attack  of  the  gout,  threatened  with  a 
pleurisy,  and  unable  to  move.f  But  he  had  obtained  from 
the  Irish  Parliament  all  he  had  asked;  subsidies,  soldiers, 
offers,  promises  ;  and  as  soon  as  he  could  leave  his  bed,  he  set 
once  more  to  the  work  with  his  accustomed  vigor  and  devo- 
tion. In  less  than  three  weeks,  voluntary  contributions,  under 
the  influence  of  his  example,  poured  into  the  exchequer  nearly 
300,000/.,  the  catholics  furnishing  the  greatest  part  of  it.J 
With  these  were  combined  all  the  vexatious  means  in  use, 
forced  loans,  ship-money,  monopolies ;  the  coining  of  base 
money  was  evep  suggested. §  In  the  eyes  of  the  king  and 
his  servants,  necessity  excused  everything :  but  necessity  is 
never  the  limit  of  tyranny:  Charles  resumed  against  the 
members  of  the  parliament  his  old  and  worse  than  useless 
practices  of  persecution  and  vengeance.  Sir  Henry  Bellasis 
and  sir  John  Hotham  were  imprisoned   for  their  speeches; 

•  Clarendon,  i.        t  Strafford's  Letters,  ii.,  403.        |  Neal,  ii.,  296. 
§  May,  i.,  63  ;  Whitelocke,  32. 


the  house  and  papers  of  lord  Brook  were  searched ;  Mr. 
Carew  was  sent  to  the  Tower  for  having  refused  to  give  up 
the  petitions  he  had  received  during  the  session,  as  chairman 
of  the  committee  appointed  to  examine  them.*  An  oath  was 
exacted  from  all  the  clergy  never  to  consent  to  any  alteration 
in  the  government  of  the  church  ;  and  the  oath  concluded 
with  an  et  ccetera  which  provoked  a  smile  of  mistrust  and 
anger.f  Never  had  more  arrogant  or  harsher  language  been 
used :  some  Yorkshire  gentlemen  had  refused  to  comply  with 
an  arbitrary  requisition  ;  the  council  wished  to  prosecute 
them  :  "  The  only  way  with  my  gentlemen,"  said  Strafford, 
"  is  to  send  for  them  up  and  lay  them  by  the  heels.":):  He 
knew  better  than  any  other  the  extent  of  the  inevitable  evils ; 
but  passion  in  him  stifled  alike  all  prudence  and  all  fear;  it 
seemed  as  though  his  earnest  effort  was  to  communicate  to  the 
king,  the  council,  and  the  court,  that  fever  which  blinds  man 
to  his  true  condition  and  to  his  danger.  He  again  fell  ill,  and 
was  even  at  the  brink  of  the  grave ;  but  his  physical  weak- 
ness only  increased  the  harshness  of  his  counsels  ;  and  almost 
ere  he  could  stand,  he  departed  with  the  king  for  the  army, 
already  assembled  on  the  frontiers  of  Scotland,  and  which  he 
was  to  command. 

On  his  way,  he  learnt  that  the  Scots,  taking  the  offensive, 
had  entered  England  (Aug.  21),  and  on  arriving  at  York, 
he  found  that  at  Newburn  (Aug.  28),  they  had  beaten, 
almost  without  resistance,  the  first  English  troops  that  had 
come  in  their  way.  Neither  of  these  events  was  the  work 
of  the  Scots  alone.  During  the  pacification,  their  agents  in 
London  had  contracted  a  close  alliance  with  the  leaders  of 
the  malcontents,  who  had  exhorted  them,  if  the  war  re-com- 
menced, promptly  to  invade  England,  promising  them  the  aid 
of  a  numerous  party.  A  messenger  was  even  sent  to  Scot- 
land bearing  inclosed  in  a  hollow  staff  an  engagement  to 
that  purpose,  at  the  foot  of  which,  to  inspire  the  Scots  with 
more  confidence,  lord  Saville,  the  only  ostensible  leader  of  the 

♦  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  584;  Rushworth,  ii.,  2,  1196. 

t  The  following  was  the  purport  of  this  paragraph  :  **  I  swear,  never 
to  give  consent  to  any  alteration  in  the  government  of  this  church, 
ruled  as  it  is  at  present  by  archbishops,  bishops,  deacons,  archdeacons, 
&c."     Neal,  ii.,  302;  Rushworth,  ii.,  2,  1186. 

t  Strafford's  Letters,  ii.,  409. 


106 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


107 


W 


plot,  had  counterfeited  the  signatures  of  six  of  the  greatest 
English  lords.     A  fierce  hatred  against  Strafford  had  alone 
induced  lord  Saville,  a  man  of  very  indifferent  character,  and 
held  in  very  light  estimation,  to  engage  in  this  audacious  in- 
trigue ;  but  there  is  every  probability  that  some  most  influ- 
ential and  most  sincere  patriots  had  also  taken  part  in  it.* 
They  had  not  misconceived  the    disposition  of  the  people. 
Parliament  was  no  sooner  dissolved,  than  aversion   for  the 
war  was  everywhere  openly  displayed.     In  London,  placards 
called  upon  the  apprentices  to  rise  and  tear  in  pieces  Laud, 
the  author  of  so  many  evils.     A  furious  band  attacked  his 
palace,  and  he  was  obliged  to  seek  refuge  at  Whitehall.     St. 
Paul's   church,  where  the  court  of  high  commission  sat,  was 
forced  by  another  party,  crying,  No  bishops,  no  high  commis- 
5ion.'t      In  the   counties,   violence  alone  procured   recruits. 
To  escape  enlistment,  many  persons  mutilated,  some  hanged 
themselves  4  those  who  obeyed  the  call  without  resistance, 
were  insulted  in  the  streets  and  treated  as  cowards  by  their 
families  and  friends.     Joining  their  regiments,  they  carried 
thither,  and  there  found  the  same  feelings.     Several  officers, 
suspected  of  popery,  were   killed  by  their  soldiers.§     When 
the   army  came  up  with  the   Scots,  the  insubordination  and 
murmuring  redoubled ;  it  saw  the  covenant  floating,  written 
in  large  characters  on  the  Scottish  standards ;  it  heard  the 
drum  calling  the  troops  to  sermon,  and   at  sunrise  the  whole 
camp  ringing  with  psalms  and  prayers.     At  this  sight,  at  the 
accounts  which  reached  them  of  the  pious  ardor  and  friendly 
disposition  of  Scotland  towards  the  English,  the  soldiers  were 
alternately  softened  and  incensed,  cursing  this  impious  war, 
and   already  vanquished,  for  they  felt   as  if  fighting  against 
their  brethren  and  against  God.||     Arrived  on  the  banks  of 
the  Tyne,  the  Scots,  without  any  hostile  demonstration,  asked 
leave  to  pass.     An   English   sentinel   fired  at  them;  a  few 
cannons  answered  ;  an  action  commenced,  and  almost  imme- 
diately the  English  army  dispersed,  and  Strafford  only  took 
the  command  of  it  to  return  to  York ;  leaving  the  Scots  to 
occupy,  without  obstacle,  the  country  and  the  towns  between 
that  city  and  the  frontiers  of  the  two  kingdoms.lT 

•  Burnet,  Own  Times;  Whitelocke  ;  Hardwicke's  Papers,  ii.,  187. 
t  Clarendon,  i.  ;  Whitelocke,  34.  J  Strafford's  Letters,  u.,  351. 
§  Rushworth,  i.,  1191-2.  II  Heylin,  Life  of  Laud,  454. 

%  Clarendon,  i. ;  Rushworth,  ii.,  2, 1236. 


From  that  moment  Strafford  himself  was  conquered.     In 
vain  did  he  endeavor,  now  by  good  words,  now  by  threats, 
to  inspire  the  troops  with  other  feelings ;  his  advances  to  the 
officers  were  constrained,  and  ill  concealed  his  contempt  and 
anger ;    his  rigor  irritated  the  soldiers  without  intimidating 
them.     Petitions  from  several  counties  soon  arrived,  entreat- 
ing  the   king   to   conclude  a  peace.      Lords  Wharton  and 
Howard  ventured  to  present  one  themselves ;  Strafford  caused 
them  to  be  arrested,  convoked  a  court-martial,  and  demanded 
that  they  should  be  shot,  at  the  head  of  the  army,  as  abettors 
of  revolt.     The  court  remained  silent ;  at  length,  Hamilton 
spoke :  "  My  lord,"  said  he  to  Strafford,  "  when  this  sentence 
of  yours  is  pronounced,  are  you  sure  of  the  soldiers  ?"     Straf- 
ford, as  if  struck  with  a  sudden  revelation,  turned  away  his 
head  shudderingly,  and  made  no  reply.*     Yet  his  indomitable 
pride  still  upheld  his  hopes ;  "  Let  the  king  but  speak  the 
word,"  he  wrote  to  Laud,  "  and  I  will  make  the  Scots  go  hence 
faster  than  they  came ;  I  would  answer  for  it,  on  my  life ;  but 
the  instructions  must  come  from  another  than  me."     In  fact, 
Charles  already  avoided  him,  afraid    of  the   energy  of  his 
counsels. 

This  prince  had  fallen  into  profound  despondency ;  every 
day  brought  him  some  new  proof  of  his  weakness ;  money  was 
wanting,  and  the  old  means  of  raising  it  no  longer  answered ; 
the  soldiers  mutinied  or  deserted  in  whole   bands ;  the  people 
were  everywhere  in  a  state  of  excitement,  impatient  for  the 
result  which  was  now  inevitable  ;  the  correspondence  with  the 
Scots  was  renewed  around  him,  in  his  camp,   in  his  very 
house.     The  latter,  still  prudent  in  their  actions,  humble  in 
their  speech,  spared  the  counties  they  had  invaded,  loaded 
their  prisoners  with  kindness  and  attention,  and  renewed  at 
every    opportunity    their   protestations    of  pacific  views,  of 
fidelity  and    devotion    to    the    king,  certain    of   victory,  but 
anxious  that   it    should   be   the   victory  of  peace.     In    con- 
nexion with  the  word  peace,  that  of  parliament  began  to  be 
combined.     Thereupon  Charles,  seized  with   fear,  determined 
(Sept.  7),f  by  whose  advice  is  not  known,  to  assemble  at  York 
the  great  council  of  the  peers  of  the  kingdom,  a  feudal  assem- 
bly,   fallen    into   desuetude    for  the  last  four  centuries,  but 


•  Burnet,  Own  Times. 


t  Rushworth,  ii.,  2,  1257. 


108 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


109 


which  formerly,  in  the  time  of  the  weakness  of  the  commons, 
had  often  shared  alone  the  sovereign  power.     Without  well 
knowing  what  this  assembly  was,  or  what  it  could  do,  there 
was  hoped  from  it  more  complaisance  and  consideration  for 
the  king's  honor;    it  became  a  question,  at  court,  whether 
possibly  this  assembly  could  not  of  itself  vote  subsidies.*  But, 
before  this  great  council  had  met,  two  petitions,  one  from  the 
city  of  London,t  the  other  from  twelve  of  the  most  eminent 
peers,!  solicited  in  express  terms,  the  convocation  of  a  consti- 
tutional  parliament.     This  was  enough  to  overcome  the  re- 
maining resistance  of  a  king  who  could  do  nothing  further. 
In  the  midst  of  these  doubts  and  fears,  Strafford,  as  much  to 
gratify  his  resentment,  as  to  justify  his  councils,  had  attacked 
the  Scots  and  obtained  some  advantage  over  them ;  he  was 
censured  as  having  compromised  the  king,  and  received  orders 
to  confine  himself  to  his  quarters.^    The  peers  met.  (Sept.  24.) 
Charles  announced  to  them  that  he  was  about  to  summon  a 
parliament,  and  only  claimed  their  advice  in  treating  with 
the  Scots.jl      Negotiations  were  begun.      Sixteen  peers,  all 
inclined  to  the  popular  party,  were  charged  with  their  man- 
agement.t      It  was  first  stipulated  that  both  armies  should 
remain  on  foot,  and  that  the  king  should  pay  that  of  the  Scots 
as  well  as  his  own.     For  this  purpose  a  loan  of  200,000Z.  was 
requested  of  the  city  of  London,  and  the  peers  added  their 
word  to  that  of  the  king  for  its  proper  expenditure.**     After 
signing,  at  Ripon,  the  preliminary  articles,  Charles,  anxious 
to  relax,  in  the  queen's  society,  from  so  many  difficulties  and 
annoyances,  transferred  the  negotiation  to  London  (Oct.  23),tT 
where  the  parliament  was  about  to  assemble.     The  Scottish 

*  Clarendon   i  t  Rushworth,  ii.,  2,  1263. 

t  lb      1262';  'lords   Essex,   Bedford,   Hertford,  Warwick,  Bristol, 
Mulgrave,  Say  and  Seal,  Howard,  Bolingbroke,  Mandeville,  Brook,  and 

^Tciarendon,  i.  Lingard,  x.,  95,  and  Brodie,  ii.,  589,  deny  the  facte, 
from  inductions  derived  from  official  and  contemporary  documents , 
but  their  reasons  do  not  appear  to  me  sufficient  to  justify  the  rejection 
of  the  evidence  of  Clarendon,  whose  narrative  is  formal,  circumstanti<tl, 
and  who  had  no  motive  for  deviating  from  the  truth  on  this  point. 

I!  Rushworth,  ii.,  2,  1275.  „  ,.  ,  ,,r       -i    Ti^iof^i    Hnl 

IT  Lords  Bedford,  Hertford,  Essex,  Salisbury,  Warwick,  Bristol,  Hol- 
land, Berkshire,  Mandeville,  Wharton,  Paget,  Brook,  Pawlet,  Howard, 
Saville,  Dunsmore. 

•*  Rushworth,  ii.,  2,  1279.  ft  Ih.,  1286. 


commissioners  hastened  thither,  certain  of  finding  powerful' 
allies.  The  elections  were  proceeding  throughout  England, 
with  the  utmost  excitement.  The  court,  sad  and  dispirited, 
in  vain  sought  to  exercise  some  influence  over  them ;  their 
candidates,  feebly  supported,  were  rejected  on  all  sides ;  they 
could  not  even  carry  the  return  of  sir  Thomas  Gardiner, 
whom  the  king  wished  to  have  as  speaker.*  The  meeting  of 
parliament  was  fixed  for  the  3d  of  November.  Some  per- 
sons  advised  Laud  to  choose  another  day  ;  this,  they  said,  was 
one  of  bad  omen  :  the  parliament  assembled  on  that  day,  under 
Henry  VIII.,  began  with  the  ruin  of  cardinal  Wolsey,  and 
ended  with  the  destruction  of  the  monasteries.f  Laud  disre- 
garded the  presages,  not  from  superior  confidence,  but  because 
he  was  weary  of  the  struggle,  and,  like  his  master,  recklessly 
relied  upon  the  chances  of  a  future,  the  results  of  which, 
however,  both  victors  and  vanquished  were  very  far  from 
suspecting. 


Clarendon ;  Whitelocke,  37. 


t  Whitelocke,  37. 


110 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


BOOK  THE  THIRD. 


1640—1642. 

Opening  of  parliament — It  seizes  on  power — State  of  religious  9fid  po- 
litical parties — The  king's  concessions — Negotiations  between  the 
king  and  the  leaders  of  parliament — Conspiracy  in  the  army — Straf- 
ford's trial  and  death — The  king's  journey  to  Scotland — Insurrection 
in  Ireland — Debate  on  the  remonstrance — The  king's  return  to  Lon- 
don— Progress  of  the  revolution — Riots — Affair  of  the  five  members 
— The  king  leaves  London — The  queen's  departure  for  the  continent 
— Affair  of  the  militia — Negotiations — The  king  fixes  his  residence 
at  York — Both  parties  prepare  for  war — The  king  refused  admis- 
sion to  Hull — Vain  attempts  at  conciliation — Formation  of  the  two 
armies. 

On  the  appointed  day  the  king  opened  Parliament.  He  went 
to  Westminster  without  pomp,  almost  without  retinue,  not  on 
horseback  and  along  the  streets  as  usual,  but  by  the  Thames, 
in  a  plain  boat,  shunning  observation,  like  a  prisoner  following 
the  triumph  of  his  conqueror.  His  speech  was  vague  and 
embarrassed.  In  it  he  promised  the  redress  of  all  grievances, 
but  persisted  in  calling  the  Scots  "  rebels,"  and  in  demanding 
that  they  should  be  driven  from  the  kingdom,  as  if  the  war 
was  still  proceeding.  The  commons  heard  him  with  cold 
respect.  Never  at  the  opening  of  a  session  had  the  attend- 
ance been  so  numerous  ;  never  had  their  faces  worn  so  proud 
an  aspect  in  presence  of  the  sovereign.* 

The  king  had  scarcely  quitted  the  house,  ere  his  friends — 
there  were  very  few  of  them — clearly  perceived,  from  the 
conversation  of  the  various  groups,  that  the  public  indignation 
surpassed  even  what  they  had  feared.  The  dissolution  of  the 
last  parliament  had  exasperated  even  the  most  moderate. 
There  was  no  longer  talk  of  conciliation  or  caution.  The  day 
was  come,  they  said,  for  putting  in  force  the  whole  power  of 
parliament,  and  eradicating  all  abuses  so  effectually  that  not  a 
stray  root  should  remain.     Thus,  with  very  unequal  strength, 

♦  Clarendon,  ii.,  1. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


Ill 


thoughts  equally  haughty  found  themselves  drawn  up  in  battle 
array.  For  eleven  years  the  king  and  the  church  had  pro- 
claimed their  absolute,  independent,  jure  divino  sovereignty  ; 
they  had  tried  all  modes  of  forcing  it  upon  the  nation.  Unable 
to  effect  this,  and  yet  insisting  upon  the  same  maxims,  they 
came,  in  their  own  weakness,  to  seek  aid  from  an  assembly, 
which,  without  putting  it  forward  as  a  principle,  without 
making  any  show  of  it,  believed  in  their  own  sovereignty,  and 
felt  themselves  capable  of  exercising  it. 

They  began  by  a  distinct  announcement  of  all  their  griev- 
ances. Each  member  brought  with  him  a  petition  from  his 
town  or  county  ;  he  read  it,  and,  taking  it  as  the  text  of  a 
speech,  proposed,  in  each  case,  that  the  house,  till  more  effica- 
cious measures  could  be  adopted,  should  at  least  vote  the  com- 
plaints to  be  legitimate.*  Thus,  in  a  few  days,  opinion  from 
all  parts  of  the  country  declared  itself.  Thus  were  passed  in 
review  and  condemned,  all  the  acts  of  tyranny,  monopolies, 
ship-money,  arbitrary  arrests,  the  usurpations  of  the  bishops, 
the  proceedings  of  the  extraordinary  courts.  None  opposed 
the  resolutions  ;"(•  such  was  the  unanimity,  that  several  were 
adopted  on  the  motion  of  men  who,  soon  after,  became  the 
most  intimate  confidants  of  the  king.:): 

As  if  these  means  were  not  sufficient  to  reveal  the  whole 
state  of  the  case,  more  than  forty  committees  were  appointed 
to  inquire  into  abuses,  and  to  receive  the  complaints  of  the 
citizens.^  From  day  to  day,  tradesmen  and  farmers  came  on 
horseback,  in  whole  bands,  bearers  to  parliament  of  the  com- 
plaints of  their  town  or  district.  ||  In  every  direction,  such 
accusations  were  called  for  ;  they  resounded  from  the  pulpit, 
in  the  public  streets,  and  were  eagerly  received,  from  what- 
ever quarter,  in  whatever  form,  and  admitted  with  equal  con- 
fidence, whether  they  arraigned  generally  the  whole  govern- 
ment, or  individuals,  whose  punishment,  by  name,  was  de- 
manded. The  power  of  the  committees  was  unlimited ;  no 
one  had  a  right  to  oppose  them  even  by  silence,  and  the  mem- 
bers of  the  privy  council  themselves  were  obliged  to  state,  if 
called  upon,  what  had  passed  in  their  deliberations. IT 

•  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  640.  f  lb.,  672. 

1  Sir  .John  Colepepper,  lord  Di^by,  lord  Falkland,  &c. 

§  Rush  worth,  i.,  2,  28  ;  Neal,  ii.,  318.  !|  Whitelocke,  &c.,  38. 

IT  Clarendon. 


112 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


To  the  disapprobation  of  acts  was  joined  the  general  pro- 
scription of  the  actors.  Every  agent  of  the  crown,  of  what 
rank  soever,  who  had  taken  part  in  the  execution  of  the  mea- 
sures condemned,  was  marked  by  the  name  of  "  delinquent."* 
In  every  county,  a  list  of  the  delinquents  was  drawn  up.  No 
uniform  and  definitive  punishment  was  put  in  effect  against 
them ;  but  they  might,  at  any  time,  at  the  pleasure  of  the 
house,  on  the  least  pretext  of  some  new  offence,  be  brought 
before  it,  and  punished  by  fines,  imprisonment,  or  confisca- 
tion. 

In  examining  their  own  elections,  the  house  declared  un- 
worthy of  a  seat  among  them  whoever  had  taken  part  in  any 
monopoly  (Nov.  9,  1640).  Four  members  were  on  this 
ground  excluded  (Jan.  21,  1641).  Such  was  the  case  also 
with  several  others  under  the  pretext  of  some  irregularity,  but, 
in  reality,  without  legal  justification,  and  merely  because 
their  opinions  were  distrusted.  Two  Of  the  most  notorious 
monopolists,  sir  Henry  Mildmay  and  Mr.  Whitaker,  were  ad- 
mitted without  obstacle  :  they  had  come  over  to  the  dominant 

party  .f 

At  the  aspect  of  this  power,  so  immense,  so  unlooked  for, 
so  determined,  fear  seized  upon  all  the  servants  of  the  crown, 
upon  all  who  had  to  apprehend  an  accusation  or  an  enemy. 
For  them,  danger  impended  from  all  sides,  defence  presented 
itself  nowhere.  The  sole  desire  of  the  court  now  was  to  pass 
unnoticed ;  the  king  concealed  his  aflliction,  his  uneasiness, 
under  the  veil  of  complete  inaction  ;  the  judges,  trembling  for 
themselves,  would  not  have  dared  to  protect  a  delinquent ;  the 
bishops,  without  attempting  to  prevent  it,  saw  their  innovations 
abolished  all  around  them.  John  Bancroft,  bishop  of  Oxford, 
died  suddenly,  from  vexation  and  fear  4  ^^^  presbyterian 
preachers  resumed,  without  any  legal  steps,  possession  of  their 
livings  and  pulpits ;  all  the  dissenting  sects  publicly  assem- 
bled again  ;  pamphlets  of  every  description  circulated  in  full 
liberty.  Royal  and  episcopal  despotism,  though  still  existent, 
with  its  ministers,  its  tribunals,  its  laws,  its  worship,  was 
everywhere  motionless,  powerless.^ 

Strafford  had  foreseen  this  explosion,  and  entreated  the  king 
to  dispense  with  his  attending  parliament.     "  He  should  not 


*  Clarendon. 
X  Rapin,  ix.,  21. 


t  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  651 ;  Clarendon. 
§  Clarendon  ;  Neal,  ii.,  329. 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


118 


be  able  to  do  his  majesty  any  service  there,"  he  wrote  to  him, 
<'  but  should   rather  be  a  means  to  hinder  his  affairs ;  in  re- 
gard he   foresaw  that  the  great  envy  and  ill  will  of  the  par- 
liament and  of  the  Scots  would  be  bent  against  him.  Whereas, 
if  he  kept  out  of  sight,   he  would  not  be  so  much  in  their 
mind,  as  he  should  be  by  showing  himself  in  parliament ; 
and  if  they  should   fall   upon  him,  he  being  at  a  distance, 
whatsoever  they  should  conclude  against  him,  he  might  the 
better  avoid,  and  retire  from  any  danger,  having  the  liberty 
of  being  out  of  their  hands,  and  to  go  over  to  Ireland,  or  to 
some  other  place  where  he  might  be  most  serviceable  to  his 
majesty."     But  the  king  being  very  earnest  for  Strafford's 
coming,  laid  his  commands  upon  him,  and  told  him,  "  that  as 
he  was  king  of  England  he  was  able  to  secure  him  from  any 
danger,  and  that  parliament  should  not  touch  one  hair  of  his 
head."*     Strafford  still   hesitated,  but  upon  a  second  invita- 
tion,  braving  the   storm,  since  it  was  inevitable,  he  set  out 
with  the  resolution  of  himself   accusing  before  the  upper 
house,  on  proofs  recently  collected,  the  principal  members  of 
the  house  of  commons,  of  having  excited  and  aided  the  Scot- 
tish invasion.     Aware  of  the  blow  he  was  about  to  strike, 
Pym  and  his  friends  struck  first.     On  the  9th  of  November, 
Strafford   arrived  in  London  ;  on  the  lOth,  fatigue  and  fever 
confined  him  to  his  bed  ;  on  the  11th,  the  house  of  commons 
closed  their  doors,  and,  on  the  motion  of  Pym,  abruptly  im- 
peached him  for  high  treason.     Lord  Falkland  alone,  though 
an  enemy  of  Strafford's,  said  that  delay  and  some  examina- 
tion seemed  required  by  the  justice  and  dignity  of  the  house. 
"  The  least  delay  may  lose  everything,"  said  Pym  ;  "  if  the 
earl  talk  but  once  with  the  king,  parliament  will  be  dissolved ; 
besides,  the  house  only  impeaches  :  it  is  not  the  judge."  And 
he  proceeded  immediately,  with  a  committee,  to  lay  the  ac- 
cusation before  the  lords.f  . 

Strafford  was  at  this  time  with  the  king.  At  the  first  inti- 
mation, he  hastened  to  the  upper  house,  where  Pym  had  pre- 
ceded him.     He  found  the  doors  closed,  and  angrily  rebuked 

*  Whitelocke,  37.  One  would  think  Mr.  Lingard  (x.,  207)  had  not 
seen  this  passage  ;  for  he  says  it  was  only  the  friends  of  Strafford  who 
advised  him  not  to  go  to  London,  but  that  for  his  own  part  he  did  not 
hesitate  an  instant. 

t  State  Trials,  iii.,  1383. 

10* 


114 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


the  usher,  who  hesitated  to  admit  him  ;  he  was  advancing  up 
the  hall  to  take  his  seat,  when  several  voices  called  upon  him 
to  retire.  The  earl  stopped,  looked  round,  and,  after  a  few 
minutes'  hesitation,  obeyed.  Recalled  an  hour  afterwards, 
he  was  directed  to  kneel  at  the  bar  :  he  was  then  informed 
that  the  lords  had  accepted  his  impeachment,  and  decided,  on 
the  demand  of  the  commons,  that  he  should  be  sent  to  the 
Tower.  He  attempted  to  speak,  but  the  house  refused  to 
hear  him,  and  the  order  of  commitment  was  forthwith  exe- 

cuted.* 

To  the  impeachment  of  StrafK^rd  almost  immediately  sue- 
ceeded  that  of  Laud,  a  man  less  feared,  but  still  more  odious. 
A  fanatic  as  sincere  as  stern,  his  conscience  reproached  him 
with  nothing,  and  he  was  utterly  astonished  at  the  impeach- 
ment.  "  Not  one  man  in  the  house  of  commons,"  he  said, 
"does,  in  his  heart,  believe  me  a  traitor."  The  earl  of 
Essex  sharply  took  up  these  words  as  insulting  to  the  com- 
mons, who  had  accused  him.  Laud,  still  more  surprised, 
made  an  apology,  and  begged  to  be  treated  according  to  the 
ancient  usages  of  parliament.  Lord  Say  expressed  himself 
indignant  that  he  should  pretend  to  prescribe  to  them  how 
they  were  to  proceed.  The  archbishop,  now  thoroughly  agi- 
tated, was  silent,  incapable  of  understanding  other  passions 
than  his  own,  or  of  remembering  that  he  had  ever  thus  spoken 
to  his  enemies  (Dec.  18).f 

Two  other  ministers,  the  lord  keeper  Finch,  and  the  secre- 
tary of  state  Windebank,  had  taken  an  equally  active  part  in 
tyranny  ;  but  the  former,  a  crafty  courtier,  had  foreseen  what 
was  coming,  and  for  the  last  three  months  had  applied  himself, 
at  his  master's  expense,  in  gaining  the  indulgence  of  the 
leaders  of  the  opposition  ;  the  other,  a  weak  man,  and  of  me- 
diocre  understanding,  inspired  neither  hatred  nor  fear.  The 
commons,  however,  impeached  both,  though  without  any  ex- 
hibition of  passion,  as  if  merely  to  satisfy  the  public  demand. 
Windebank  absconded.  Lord  Finch  obtained  permission  to 
appear  before  the  house,  and  there,  in  humble  terms,  but 
graceful  manner,  made  an  unmeaning  apology  (Dec.  21). 
The  party  was  pleased  with  this,  as  the  first  homage  paid  by 
a  minister  of  the  crown  to  its  power,  and  allowed  him  time  to 


•  State  Trials,  iii.,  1384. 


t  lb.,  iv.,  319. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


115 


make  his  way  beyond  sea.  Several  members  were  astonished 
at  this  so  partial  justice  ;  but  Pym  and  Hampden,  skilful 
leaders,  did  not  wish  to  discourage  baseness  on  the  part  of 
their  opponents.*  Impeachments  against  two  bishops,  some 
theologians,  and  six  judges,  were  also  set  on  foot.  But  that 
of  Strafford  alone  was  followed  up  with  ardor.  A  secret 
committee,  invested  with  immense  powers,  was  commissioned 
to  scrutinize  his  whole  life,  to  trace,  in  his  words  as  well  as 
in  his  acts,  nay,  even  in  the  councils  he  had  given,  whether 
the  king  had  adopted  them  or  not,  proofs  of  high  treason. f  A 
similar  committee  formed  in  Ireland,  served  as  an  auxiliary 
to  that  of  the  commons.  The  Scots  concurred  by  a  virulent 
declaration,  hinting  very  unmistakably  that  their  army  would 
not  leave  the  kingdom  till  justice  had  been  done  on  their  most 
cruel  enemy.  To  popular  hatred  and  fear,  it  did  not  seem 
too  much  that  the  three  nations  should  be  leagued  against  one 
prisoner.  :f 

Thus  delivered  from  their  adversaries,  and  preparing  sig- 
nal vengeance  against  the  only  one  they  feared,  the  commons 
took  possession  of  the  government.  They  voted  subsidies, 
but  of  insignificant  amount,  merely  sufficient  to  supply  the 
necessities  of  each  day.§  Commissioners  selected  from  their 
body,  and  named  in  the  bill,  were  alone  entrusted  with  their 
application.  The  custom  duties,  in  like  manner,  were  only 
voted  for  two  months,  and  renewed  from  time  to  time.  To 
meet  the  expenses,  more  considerable  and  more  prompt  re- 
venues were  needed.  The  commons  borrowed,  but  in  their 
own  name,  from  their  partisans  in  the  city,  even  from  their 
own  members,  and  on  the  sole  security  of  their  promise  :  thus 
originated  public  credit.  ||  The  king  pressed  the  dismissal  of 
the  two  armies,  particularly  that  of  the  Scots,  dwelling  upon 
the  burden  their  continuance  in  England  imposed  on  the 
northern  counties  ;  but  the  house  had  need  of  them,ir  and  felt 
in  a  position  to  induce  the  people  to  suffer  this  burden : 
"  The  Philistines  are  too  strong  for  us  still,"  said  Mr.  Strode: 

•  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  686;  Clarendon  (Oxford,  1807),  i.,  274,  ii.,  15, 
17 ;  May,  i.,  86,  172  ;  Whitelocke,  40. 

t  Clarendon,  i.,  279. 

X  lb.,  297.  The  trial  of  Strafford  forms  the  8th  volume  of  Rush- 
worth's  collection  ;  I  refer  to  it  thus  once  for  all. 

§  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  701.  ||  Clarendon,  ut  mp. 

IT  Baillie,  Letters,  i.,  240. 


116 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


«  we  cannot  do  without  our  allies."  The  king's  importunities 
were  eluded ;  nay,  in  the  distribution  of  the  funds  allotted 
for  their  pay,  more  favor  was  shown  to  the  Scots  than  to  the 
English  troops,  whose  officers  did  not  all  inspire  parliament 
with  the  same  confidence.*  Some  of  these  took  otfence,  but 
the  house  paid  no  heed  to  it.  They  did  more  :  they  resolved 
that  the  Scots  had  lent  the  English  a  brotherly  assistance,  that 
for  the  future  they  should  be  called  brothers,  and  voted  in 
their  favor,  as  an  indemnity  and  recompense,  the  sum  of 
300,000?.  The  negotiations  for  a  definitive  peace  with  Scot- 
land were  conducted  by  a  committee  of  parliament  rather 
than  by  the  king's  council.  The  leaders  of  both  houses,  par- 
ticularly  those  of  the  commons,  dined  together  every  day  at 
Mr.  Pym's,  at  their  own  expense  ;  here  they  were  joined  by 
the  Scottish  commissioners,  by  the  authors  of  the  principal 
petitions,  by  the  most  influential  men  in  the  city ;  here  they 
discussed  the  affairs  of  both  houses  and  of  the  state. f  Such 
was  the  tendency  of  all  powers  to  parliament,  that  the  coun- 
cillors of  the  crown,  incapable  or  afraid  of  deciding  the 
slightest  question  of  themselves,  referred  to  it  in  everything, 
without  its  needing  to  make  any  demand  to  that  effect.  A 
Roman-catholic  priest,  Goodman,  had  been  condemned  to 
death  ;  the  king,  who  dared  not  pardon  him,  placed  his  life 
at  the  disposal  of  the  commons,  the  only  means  of  saving  it ; 
for,  notwithstanding  their  passions,  they  manifested  no  desire 
for  bloodshed  (Feb.,  164l).f  The  people  had  conceived  a 
hatred  for  the  queen's  mother,  Marie  de  Medicis,  then  a  re- 
fugee in  London :  every  day  the  multitude  surrounded  her 
house,  loading  her  with  insults  and  menaces.  It  was  to  the 
commons  that  the  court  applied  to  know  whether  she  could 
remain  in  England,  and  how  her  safety  should  be  cared  for. 
They  answered  she  had  better  depart,  voted  10,000Z.  for  her 
journey,  and  their  wish  was  immediately  carried  out  (May).§ 
Decisions  of  the  courts  of  law,  long  since  pronounced,  came 
under  their  jurisdiction,  as  well  as  the  private  affairs  of  the 
king  and  court.  The  condemnation  of  Prynne,  Burton,  Bast- 
wick,  Leighton,  and  Lilburne,  was  declared  illegal,  and  their 
liberation  ordered  (Nov.  7),|1  together  with  a  large  indemnity, 

*  Whitelocke,  46.  t  Clarendon,  Mem.  (1827),  i.,  90. 

X  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  710;  State  Trials,  iv.,  59. 

§  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  788,  793 ;  May,  i.,  108.     ||  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  639, 731. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


117 


which,  however,  they  never  received  ,•  the  common  fate  of 
past  merits,  soon  effaced  by  new  deserts,  new  necessities.  The 
joy  of  the  public  was  their  only  recompense  :  at  the  news  of 
their  return,  a  crowd  of  five  thousand  persons  went  to  meet 
them;  everywhere,  on  their  route,  the  streets  were  hung 
with  flags  and  laurels,  and  all  the  men  wore  rosemary  and 
bays  in  their  hats.*  The  transports  of  the  people,  the  weak- 
ness of  the  king,  everything  urged  on  the  commons  to  take 
mto  their  sole  hands  the  reins  of  the  state,  everything  con- 
curred to  elevate  them  into  sovereign  power. 

Their  first  attempt  at  the  reform  of  institutions  manifestly 
proclaimed,  if  not  their  sovereignty,  at  least  their  complete 
independence.     A  bill  was  proposed  (Jan.   19,  1641),  which 
prescribed  the  calling  of  a  new  parliament,  every  three  years 
at  the  most.     If  the  king  did  not  convoke  one,  twelve  peers 
assembled   at   Westminster   might   summon  one  without  his 
cooperation  ;  in  default  of  this,   the  sheriffs  and  municipal 
officers  were  to  proceed  with  the  elections.     If  the  sheriffs 
neglected  to  see  to  it,  the  citizens  had  a  right  to  assemble  and 
elect  representatives.     No  parliament  could  be  dissolved  or 
adjourned  without  the  consent  of  the  two  houses,  till  fifly  days 
after  its  meeting  ;  and  to  the  houses  alone  belonged  the  choice 
of  their  respective  speaker.f     At  the  first  news  of  this  bill,  the 
king  quitted  the  silence  in  which  he  had  shut  himself  up,  and 
assembling  both  houses  at  Whitehall  (Jan.  23),:|:  said,  «'  I  like 
to  have  frequent  parliaments,  as  the  best  means  to  preserve  that 
right  Hinderstanding  between  me  and  my  subjects,  which  I  so 
earnestly  desire.     But  to  give  power  to  sheriffs  and  constables, 
and  I  know  not  whom,  to  do  my  office,  that  I  cannot  yield 
to."     The  house  only  saw  in  these  words,  a  new  motive  to 
press  forward  the  adoption  of  the  bill;   none  dared  counsel 
the  king  to  refuse  it ;  he  yielded,  but  in  doing  so,  thought  it 
due  to  his  dignity  to  show  the  extent  of  his  displeasure.     He 
said,  "  I  do  not  know  for  what  you  can  ask,  that  I  can  here- 
after make  any  question  to  yield  unto  you ;  so  far,  truly,  1 
have  had  no  great  encouragement  to  oblige  you,  for  you  have 
gone  on  in  that  which  concerns  yourselves,  and   not  those 
things  which  merely  concern  the  strength  of  this  kingdom. 
You  have  taken  the  government  almost  to  pieces,  and  I  may 


*  May,  i.,  80,  157  ;  Whitelocke,  40. 
t  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  710. 


t  Rush  worth,  i.,  3.,  189. 


118 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


say,  it  is  almost  off  its  hinges.  A  skilful  watchmaker,  to 
make  clean  his  watch,  will  take  it  asunder,  and  when  it  is  put 
together  again,  it  will  go  all  the  better,,  so  that  he  leave  not 
out  one  pin  of  it.  Now,  as  I  have  done  all  my  part,  you  know 
what  to  do  on  yours.''     (Feb.  16,  1641.)* 

The  houses  passed  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  king,  and  torth- 
with  proceeded  in  the  work  of  reform,  demanding,  in  succes- 
sive  motions,  the  abolition  of  the  star  chamber,  of  the  north 
court,  of  the  ecclesiastical  court  of  high  commission,  and  of  all 
the  extraordinary  tribunals.f 

No  one  opposed  these  proposals ;  there  was  no  debate,  even ; 
the  statement  of  grievances  took  its  place.     Even  the  men 
who  began  to  fear  a  disorderly  movement  and  the  ulterior 
designs  of  the  party,  would  not  have  dared  to  defend  powers, 
odious  through  their  acts,  and  in  point  of  fact  illegal,  though 
several  were  invested  with  a  legal  existence.    Political  reform 
was  the  unanimous  desire,  without  any  reference  to  social 
condition  or  religious  opinions  ;  no  one   as  yet  troubled  him- 
self with  calculations  as  to  its  precise  consequences  or  extent. 
All  concurred  in  it  without  questioning  themselves  as  to  their 
intentions  and  motives.     Men  of  a  soaring  mind,  of  long  and 
steady    foresight,   or    already   compromised   by   proceedings 
which  the  laws  condemned,  Hampden,  Pym,  Holies,  Stapleton, 
contemplated  the  taking  from  the  crown  its  fatal  prerogative, 
to  transfer  the  government  to  the  house,  and  to  fix  it  there 
irremovably.     This  was  in  their  eyes  the  country's  right, 
and  for  the  people  as  well  as  for  themselves  the  only  sure 
guarantee.      But,    impelled   to   this   design   still    more   from 
necessity  than  from  any  clearly  conceived  principle,  sanctioned 
by  public  opinion,  they  proceeded  towards  its  accomplishment 
without  declaring  it.     Men  following  in  their  train,  violent 
sectaries,  members  as  yet  obscure,  though  very  active,  Crom- 
well, Henry  Martyn,  from  time  to  time  gave  utterance,  as 
against  the  king  or  the  form  of  government,  to  words  of  a  more 
menacing  character,  but  they  seemed,  at  least  in  the  house, 
without  consideration  or  credit ;   and  even  those  who  won- 
dered,  or  were  indignant  at  their  rugged  violence,  were  not 
alarmed  at  it.     The  majority  of  the  house  flattered  them- 
selves,  that,  after  the  destruction  of  abuses,  they  should  re- 


•  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  716. 


t  lb.,  717. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


119 


turn  to  the  condition  which  they  called  that  of  old  England, 
the  power  of  the  king  supreme,  but  restricted  by  the  periodical 
power  of  the  two  houses,  within  the  limits  of  the  law ;  and 
meanwhile,  they  accepted,  as  a  temporary  necessity,  the  almost 
exclusive  domination  of  the  commons,  more  conformable,  for 
that  matter,  than  they  themselves  imagined,  with  the  ideas  and 
feelings,  somewhat  confused  in  their  nature,  which  animated 
them.  Thus  political  reform,  equally  desired  by  all,  though 
with  very  different  views  and  hopes,  was  being  accomplished 
with  all  the  force  of  irresistible  unanimity. 

In  religious  matters  it  was  quite  different.  From  the  very 
first  day,  an  utter  diversity  of  opinions  and  wishes  on  this 
subject  was  apparent.  A  petition  from  the  city  of  London, 
backed  by  15,000  signatures,  demanded  the  entire  abolition  of 
episcopacy.  (Dec.  11,  1640.)*  Nearly  at  the  same  moment, 
seven  hundred  ecclesiastics  limited  themselves  to  requiring 
the  reform  of  the  temporal  power  of  the  bishops,  of  their 
despotism  in  the  church,  of  the  administration  of  its  revenues ; 
and  soon  after,  there  arrived,  from  various  counties,  nineteen 
petitions,  signed,  it  is  said,  by  more  than  100,000  persons, 
recommending  the  maintenance  of  episcopal  government.f 
Within  the  walls  of  parliament  itself  the  same  difference  of 
views  was  manifested.  The  petition  of  the  city  was  all  but 
refused  by  the  commons,  being  only  admitted  after  a  violent 
debate. :f  A  bill  was  proposed,  declaring  all  ecclesiastics  in- 
capable of  any  civil  function,  and  excluding  the  bishops  from 
the  house  of  lords ;  but  in  order  to  induce  the  commons  to 
adopt  it  (March  9  and  11,  1641),  the  presbyterian  party  were 
obliged  to  promise  they  would  go  no  further ;  on  this  condition 
alone  did  Hampden  obtain  the  vote  of  lord  Falkland  ;§  but 
the  bill,  when  it  reached  the  lords,  was  rejected  (May  24  and 
June  7).|j  Furious  at  this,  the  presbyterians  demanded  the 
destruction  of  bishoprics  and  deaneries  and  chapters  (May  27)  ;ir 
but  the  opposition  was  so  warm  that  they  resolved  to  postpone 
their  motion.  At  one  time,  the  two  houses  seemed  agreed  upon 
repressing  the  disorders  that  broke  out  on  all  sides  in  public 
worship,  and  on  maintaining  its  legal  forms  (Jan.  16)  ;**  but, 
two  days  afterwards,  their  dissensions  re-appeared.     Of  their 


♦  Rushworth,  i.,  3,  93.     f  Neal,  ii.,  356. 

§  Clarendon,  i.,  366. 

IT  P  Hist.,  SU  ;  Clarendon,  i..  368. 


X  Baillie,  Letters,  i.,  244. 
II  p.  Hist.,  ii.,  794— 814. 
**  Neal,  ii.,  p.  339. 


A^ 


120 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


sole  authority,  without  even  informing  the  lords,  the  commons 
sent  commissioners  into  the   counties  to  carry  off  from  the 
churches  the  images,  altars,  crucifixes,  and  all  the  other  relics 
of  idolatry  (Jan.  23)  ;*  and  these  messengers  sanctioned  by 
their  presence  the  popular  passions,  the  outbreak  of  which 
had  preceded  them.     On  their  side,  the  lords,  learning  that 
the  independents  had  publicly  resumed  their  meetmgs  (Jan. 
18),  summoned  their  leaders  to  the  bar  (Jan.  19),t  and  re- 
proved  them,  though  but  timidly.     No  opinion,  no  intention 
on  this  subject,  was  really  predominant  or  national.     Among 
the  partisans  of  episcopacy,  some,  small  in  number,  but  ani- 
mated with  the  energy  of  faith  or  the  pertinacity  of  personal 
interest,   maintained  its  pretensions  to  divine  right;  others, 
looking  upon  it  as  a  human  institution,  deemed  it  essential  to 
monarchy,  and  thought  the  throne  compromised  by  the  power 
of  the  bishops  suffering  any  serious  blow  ;  others,  and  these 
were  numerous,  would  willingly,  while  excluding  the  bishops 
from  public  affairs,  have   retained  them  at  the  head  of  the 
church,  as  tradition,  the  laws,  and  state  convenience  seemed 
to  them  to  require.     In  the  opposite  party,  opinions  were  no 
less  various  ;    some  were  attracted   to  episcopacy    by  habit, 
although  their  notions  were  not  favorable  to  it ;  according 
to  many  of  the  most  enlightened,  no  church  constitution  ex- 
isted by  divine  right,  or  possessed  absolutely  legitimacy ;  it 
might  vary  according  to  time   and  place  ;  the  parliament  was 
at  liberty  always  to  alter  it,  and  public  interest  ought  alone  to 
decide  the  fate  of  episcopacy,  respecting  whose  abolition  or 
maintenance  there  was  no  fixed   principle,     But  the  presby- 
terians  and  their  ministers  saw  in  the  episcopal  system  an 
idolatry  condemned  by  the  gospel,  at  once  the  successor  and 
forerunner  of  popery  ;  they  repelled,  with  all  the  indignation 
of  zealous  faith,  its  liturgy,  its  form  of  worship,  its  most  re- 
mote consequences ;  and  reclaimed  for  the  republican  consti- 
tution  of  the  church,  the  divine  right  which  the  bishops  had 

usurped.  ,.  .     i      c 

For  some  time  after  the  first  successes  of  political  retorm, 
these  dissensions  impeded  the  progress  of  parliament.  As  soon 
as  religious  questions  came  under  discussion,  the  adversaries 
of  the  court,  hitherto  unanimous,  became  divided,  nay,  op- 


•  Neal,  ii.,  343. 


t  lb.,  342. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


121 


posed  each  other ;  the  majority  often  varied,  and  no  party 
presented  itself  which  was  on  every  occasion  animated  by  the 
same  spirit,  devoted  to  the  same  designs,  and  capable  of  mas- 
tering the  other  sections.     Pym,  Hampden,  the  leading  chiefs 
of  the  political  party,  took  care  to  spare  the  presbyterians, 
and  supported  even  their  most  daring  motions  ;  yet  it  was 
well  known  that  they  did  not  share  their  fanatical  passions, 
and  that  what  they  had  at  heart  was  rather  to  reduce  the  tem- 
poral  power  of  the  bishops  than  to  alter  the  constitution  of 
the  church,*  and  that  in  the  upper  house,  among  the  most 
popular  lords,  the  establishment  had  numerous  partisans.     A 
few  prudent  men  advised  the  king  to  take  advantage  of  these 
dissensions,  and  to  prevent  the  union  of  the  political  and  re- 
ligious reformers,  by  boldly  confiding  to  the  former  the  affairs 
of  the  crown. 

Negotiations  were  accordingly  opened.     The  marquis  of 
Hamilton,  always  earnest  to  interpose  between  the  parties, 
was  the  most  active  agent  in  conducting  them ;  the  earl  of 
Bedford,  a  moderate  man,  influential  in  the  upper  house,  and 
much  esteemed  by  the  public,  took  a  dignified  share  in  them. 
The  leaders  of  both  houses  often  assembled  at  his  house ;  he 
possessed  their  confidence,  and  seemed  authorized  to  treat  in 
their  name.     The  king,  who  consented  earlier  than  he  him- 
self could  have  wished,  first  formed  a  new  privy  council,"|-  to 
which  lords  Bedford,  Essex,  Warwick,  Say,  Kimbolton,  and 
some  others  were  summoned  ;  all  of  them  of  the  popular  party, 
some  even  ardently  engaged  in  the  opposition,  but  all  high 
in  rank.     The  pride  of  Charles,  already  wounded  at  bending 
even  before  them,  did  not  permit  him  to  carry  the  admission  of 
his  defeat  lower  in  the  scale.     But  the  point  was  insisted  on  ; 
the  new  councillors  would  not  be  separated  from  their  friends  : 
each  day  more  clearly  manifested  to  the  king  the  importance 
of  those  leaders  of  the  commons  whom  he  regarded  with  such 
bitter  disdain.     They,  on  their  side,  without  rejecting  the 
overtures  made  them,  manifested  little  eagerness  in  the  matter, 
less,   however,  from  indifference  than  from  perplexity :   by 
accepting,  they  would,  indeed,  attain  the  principal  aim  of  all 
endeavors  ;  they  would,  in  the  name  of  the  country,  achieve 
legal  possession  of  power,  impose  a  ministry  upon  the  crown. 


*  Clarendon,  ut  sup. 
11 


t  lb.,  i.,  302. 


122 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


and  subject  the  king  to  the  counsels  of  parliament ;  but  then 
he  required  them  to  save  Strafford  and  the  church ;  in  other 
words,  to  set  at  liberty  their  most  formidable  enemy,  and  to 
break  with  the  presbyterians,  their  warmest  friends.  On  both 
sides  the  perplexity  was  great,  and  distrust  already  too  deep 
to  yield  so  soon  to  ambition  or  to  fear.  At  length,  however, 
direct  and  precise  proposals  were  made.  Pym  was  to  be 
chancellor  of  the  exchequer,  Hampden  tutor  to  the  prince  of 
Wales,  Holies  secretary  of  state ;  St.  John  was  at  once  ap- 
pointed  attorney-general.  The  ministry  was  to  have. for  its 
leader  the  earl  of  Bedford,  with  the  title  of  lord  high  treasurer. 
The  previous  occupants  of  these  various  offices  had  tendered 
or  already  given  in  their  resignation.* 

But  during  these  negotiations,  carried  on  by  both  parties 
with  little  hope,  perhaps  also  without  any  warm  desire  of 
success,  other  proposals  reached  the  king,  far  more  adapted 
to  his  feelings.  Discontent  had  spread  in  the  army  ;  several 
officers,  members  of  the  lower  house,  too,  had  openly  expressed 
it.  "  If,"  said  one  of  them  (commissary  Wilmot)  in  the  house, 
"  all  the  Scotch  have  to  do  to  get  their  money  is  to  demand  it, 
the  English  soldiers  will  know  how  to  follow  the  example."! 
A  report  of  this  feeling  soon  reached  the  ears  of  the  queen  ; 
her  favorite,  Henry  Jermyn,  established  a  connexion  with 
the  malcontents,  and  by  his  means  she  received  them  at  White- 
hall, and  expressed  her  deep  sympathy  with  their  situation, 
the  same,  said  she,  though  far  less  sad,  far  less  perilous,  with 
that  of  the  king.  Lively  and  ingratiating  in  her  manners, 
placing  her  whole  hope  in  them,  she  had  little  difficulty  in 
persuading  them  that  they  held  the  destiny  of  the  state  in 
their  hands.  Secret  conferences  were  established,  in  the 
course  of  which  all  sorts  of  plans  were  brought  forward. 
Some  proposed  that  the  army  should  march  to  London,  and 
forthwith  deliver  the  king  from  his  bondage;  others,  more 
sagacious,  merely  proposed  that  it  should  address  to  parliament 
a  petition  expressing  its  devotion  to  the  king  and  the  church  ; 
declaring,  that,  in  its  opinion,  the  reformation  of  the  state  was 
completed,  and  requiring  a  stop  to  be  put  to  innovation.  Aid 
from  abroad  was  also  discussed,  levies  in  Portugal,  France  ; 
frivolous  notions,  without  any  result,  but  confidently  advanced 

♦  Clarendon,  ii.,  73,  &c.  ;  Whitelocke,  41 ;  Sidney  Papers,  ii.,  664. 
t  Whitelocke,  46. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


123 


by  hare-brained  men,  perhaps  just  risen  from  the  dinner-table, 
and  at  all  events  more  intent  upon  pushing  themselves  forward 
than  upon  the  success  of  the  cause.     In  connexion  with  these 
palace  cabalmgs,  there  were,  in  the  army  itself,  some  intrigues, 
more  active  than  efficacious.     The  malcontents  came  to  and 
fro  between  the  camp  and  London,  and  short  manuscript  pam- 
phlets circulated  in  the  cantonments.     The  king  himself  had 
after  awhile,  an  interview  with  Percy,  brother  to  the  earl  of 
Northumberland,  and  one  of  the  conspirators ;  he  discounte- 
nanced, by  Percy's  advice,  all  violent  projects,  all  idea  of 
bringmg  the  army  to  London ;  but  the  copy  of  a  petition  was 
submitted  to  him,  as  menacing  to  the  parliament  as  those  daily 
received  by  the  commons  were  to  the  crown  and  the  church. 
He  approved  of  it,  and  to  give  influence  to  the  leaders  of  the 
enterprise,  suffered  himself  to  be  persuaded  to  affix  his  initials 
to  it,  in  sign  of  assent.* 

The  plot  continued  without  advancing ;  the  petition  was  not 
presented,  but  nothing  escapes  the  distrust  of  a  nation,  and 
once  their  jealousy  is  excited,  they  regard  designs  as  acts, 
words  as  designs.     In  public  places,  in  taverns,  a  multitude 
of  voluntary  spies  collected  the  imprudent  remarks  of  the 
officers,  and  reported  them  to  Pym,  who  had  the  superintend- 
ence of  this  department.     Ere  long,  treachery  revealed  more  ; 
Goring,  one  of  the  conspirators,  discovered  the  whole  to  the 
earl  of  Bedford.     Nothing  had  been  done,  but  the  king  had 
allowed  himself  to  listen  to  propositions  involving  the  worst 
that  was  to  be  feared.     The  leaders  of  the  commons  kept  this 
discovery  to  themselves,  waiting  for  some  great  occasion-j-  to 
make  good  use  of  it ;  thoy  did  not  even  break  off  the  negotia- 
tions, still  carried  on  in  the  king's  name  with  reference  to  their 
appointment  to  office.     But,  from  that  moment,  all  hesitation 

•  May,  i.,  97  ;  Clarendon,  i.,  401 ;  ii.,  132 ;  Whitelocke,  45  :  Rush- 
worth,  1.,  3,  252.  ,        ,         « 

t  Mr.  Brodie  denies  this  fact  (iii,,  109),  and  thinks  that  Gorinff  did 
not  reveal  the  plot,  till  in  the  course  of  the  month  of  April,  1641 
This  IS,  indeed,  what  might  be  concluded  from  Husband's  Collection 
p.  195,  &c. ;  but  an  attentive  examination  of  the  whole  of  this  intrigue' 
and  a  comparison  of  the  different  passages  indicated  in  the  preceding 
note,  prove,  to  my  mind,  that  the  meetings  of  the  officers  commenced 
m  the  beginning  of  the  winter  of  1641,  and  that  Pym  and  his  friends 
had  notice  of  them  in  the  beginning  of  March.  This  is  also  the 
opinion  of  Mr.  Lingard,  x.,  128,  note  27. 


124 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


disappeared  from  their  councils ;  they  united  themselves  closely 
with  the  fanatic  presbyterians,  the  only  party  whose  co-ope- 
ration was  sure,  whose  devotion  was  inexhaustible,  for  they 
alone  had  fixed  principles,  ardent  passions,  a  revolution'  to  ac- 
complish, and  popular  force  to  accomplish  it  with.  Meantime, 
the  destruction  of  Strafford  was  irrevocably  resolved,  and  his 
trial  began  (March  22). 

The  whole  house  of  commons  insisted  upon  being  present 
to  support  the  impeachment.  With  them  sat,  for  the  same 
purpose,  commissioners  from  Scotland  and  Ireland.  Eighty 
peers  acted  as  judges ;  the  bishops  upon  a  desire  to  that  ef- 
fect very  decidedly  expressed  by  the  commons,  declined  being 
present,  as  is  indeed  the  case  always  in  trials  for  life  or  death. 
Above  the  peers,  in  a  closed  gallery,  sat  the  king  and  queen, 
anxious  to  see  all  that  passed,  but  desirous  of  concealing,  the 
one  his  anguish,  the  other  her  curiosity.  Around,  in  galleries 
and  on  raised  steps,  was  a  crowd  of  spectators,  of  both  sexes, 
nearly  all  of  high  rank,  already  affected  by  the  pomp  of  the 
spectacle,  the  importance  of  the  trial,  and  the  well-known 
character  of  the  accused.* 

Brought  by  water  from  the  Tower  to  Westminster,  the 
prisoner  passed  through  the  multitude  assembled  at  the  doors, 
without  confusion  or  insult ;  despite  the  general  hatred,  his 
so  recent  greatness,  his  deportment,  the  very  terror  lately 
attached  to  his  name,  still  commanded  respect.  As  he  pro- 
ceeded on,  his  ibrm  prematurely  bowed  by  sickness  but  his  eye 
glittering  and  haughty  as  in  his  youth,  the  crowd  made  way 
and  uncovered,  and  he  saluted  them  with  courtesy,  regarding 
this  demeanor  of  the  people  as  a  good  omen.j'  Hope  had  not 
failed  him  ;  he  despised  his  adversaries,  had  well  studied  their 
charges,  and  did  not  doubt  he  should  clear  himself  of  the  crime 
of  high  treason.  The  accusation  of  the  Irish  alone  had  for  a 
moment  astounded  him ;  he  could  not  understand  how  a  king- 
dom till  then  so  submissive — nay,  so  eager  to  flatter  and  to 
serve  him,  could  thus  so  suddenly  have  changed. 

The  second  day,  an  incident  showed  him  that  he  had  mis- 
understood his  situation  and  the  difficulties  of  his  defence  :  "  I 
hope,"  said  he,  "  I  shall  easily  repel  the  imputations  of  my 
malicious  enemies."  At  these  words,  Pym,  who  was  managing 

*  May,  i.,  92  ;  State  Trials,  iii.,  1414.       f  State  Trials,  iii.,  1417. 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


125 


the  trial,  angrily  took  him  up.  "  It  is  to  the  commons  this 
insult  is  addressed  :  and  I  pronounce  it  a  crime  thus  to  charge 
them  with  malicious  enmity."  Strafford,  agitated  at  this,  fell 
upon  his  knees,  apologized,  and  from  that  moment,  perfectly 
calm  and  self-possessed,  allowed  to  escape  him  not  one  sign  of 
anger  or  even  of  impatience,  not  a  word  which  could  be  turned 
asjainst  him.* 

For  seventeen  days,  he,  unaided,  against  thirteen  accusers 
who  relieved  one  another,  argued  the  charges  which  they 
brought  forward.  A  great  many  were  incontestably  proved, 
convicting  him  of  injustice  and  tyranny.  But  others,  fool- 
ishly exaggerated  or  blindly  credited  by  hatred,  were  easily 
repelled,  and  none,  in  truth,  came  within  the  legal  definition 
of  high  treason.  Strafford  applied  all  his  efforts  to  dispossess 
them  of  this  character,  speaking  with  magnanimity  of  his 
imperfections,  of  his  frailties,  opposing  a  modest  dignity  to  the 
violence  of  his  adversaries,  and  proving,  without  contumely, 
the  passion-born  illegality  of  their  proceedings.  Disgraceful 
obstacles  impeded  his  defence  ;  his  counsel,  obtained  with  great 
difficulty,  and  despite  the  commons,  were  not  allowed  to  speak 
as  to  facts,  nor  to  examine  the  witnesses ;  permission  to  bring 
forward  witnesses  for  the  defence  was  not  granted  him  till 
three  days  before  the  trial  commenced,  though  most  of  them 
were  in  Ireland.  At  every  opportunity,  he  claimed  his  right, 
thanked  his  judges  if  they  consented  to  acknowledge  it,  made 
no  complaint  when  they  refused,  and  simply  replied  to  his 
enemies,  who  were  angry  at  the  delays  created  by  his  able 
defence :  "  1  have  as  much  right,  I  believe,  to  defend  my  life, 
as  others*  have  to  assail  it." 

So  much  energy  embarrassed  and  humiliated  the  accusers. 
Twice  (March  25,  April  9),  the  commons  summoned  the  lords 
to  proceed  more  rapidly  with  a  trial,  which,  they  said,  caused 
them  to  lose  time  highly  precious  to  the  country. f  The  lords 
refused ;  the  success  of  the  accused  gave  them  back  a  little 
energy.  When  the  case  for  the  prosecution  was  over,  before 
Strafford's  counsel  had  opened  their  lips,  or  he  himself  had 
resumed  his  defence,  the  impeachment  committee  felt  them- 
selves conquered,  at  least  as  to  the  proof  of  high  treason. 
The  excitement  of  the  commons  became  extreme :  favored  by 


♦  State  Trials,  iii.,  1420. 

11* 


t  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  743. 


126 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


127 


I'  '< 


the  letter  of  the  law  and  his  own  fatal  genius,  this  great  cri- 
minal, then,  was  about  to  escape  them,  and  reform,  scarcely 
born,  would  once  more  have  to  sustain  the  attack  of  its  most 
dangerous  enemy.  A  sudden  and  bold  stroke  was  resolved 
upon.  Sir  Arthur  Haslerig,  a  hard,  coarse-minded  man,  pro- 
posed to  declare  Strafford  guilty  and  to  condemn  him  by  act 
of  parliament  (April  10,  1641).  This  proceeding,  which 
dispensed  the  judges  from  all  law,  was  not  without  example, 
though  its  precedents  all  belonged  to  periods  of  tyranny,  and 
had  even  been  denounced  soon  after  their  occurrence,  as  ini- 
quitous. Some  notes  found  among  the  papers  of  the  secretary 
of  state.  Vane,  and  given  to  Pym  by  his  son,*  were  produced 
as  supplementary  proof  sufficient  to  make  out  high  treason. 
They  imputed  to  Strafford  that  he  had  advised  the  king,  in 
open  council,  to  employ  the  Irish  army  to  quell  England. 
The  words  they  attributed  to  him,  though  contradicted  by  the 
evidence  of  several  members  of  the  council,  aijd  in  them- 
selves susceptible  of  a  less  odious  interpretation,  were  too 
conformable  with  his  general  conduct,  and  with  the  maxims 
he  had  often  declared,  not  to  produce  a  strong  impression  on 
all  minds.  The  bill  immediately  obtained  a  first  reading. 
Some  thought  they  were  sacrificing  the  law  to  justice,  others 
justice  to  necessity. 

All  this  while  the  trial  went  on,  for  the  commons  would  not 
give  up  any  chance  against  the  accused,  nor  allow  the  peril 
of  the  act  of  parliament  to  release  him  from  that  of  the  legal 
judgment.  Before  his  counsel  began  to  speak  on  the  ques- 
tion of  law,  Strafford  resumed  his  defence  (April  13),  he 
spoke  long  and  with  marvellous  eloquence,  applying  himself 
to  prove  that  by  no  law  could  any  one  of  his  actions  be  charged 
as  high  treason.  Conviction  every  moment  grew  stronger  in 
the  minds  of  his  judges,  and  he  ably  followed  its  progress, 
adapting  his  words  to  the  impressions  he  saw  springing  up, 
deeply  agitated,  but  not  allowing  his  emotion  to  keep  him  from 
perceiving  and  marking  what  was  passing  around  him.  "  My 
lords,"  he  said,  in  conclusion,  "  these  gentlemen  tell  me  they 
speak  in  defence  of  the  commonwealth  against  my  arbitrary 
laws  ;  give  me  leave  to  say  it,  I  speak  in  defence  of  the  com- 

♦  His  name  was  Harry  Vane,  the  same  as  his  father's.  It  is  he  who 
will  always  be  referred  to  hereafter  as  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  inde- 
pendent party. 


monwealth,  against  their  arbitrary  treason.  .  .  .  My  lords,  do 
we  not  live  by  laws,  and  must  we  be  punished  by  laws  before 
they  be  made  ?  My  lords,  if  this  crime,  which  they  call 
arbitrary  treason,  had  been  marked  by  any  discerner  of  the 
law,  the  ignorance  thereof  should  be  no  excuse  for  me ;  but 
if  it  be  no  law  at  all,  how  can  it  in  rigor  or  strictness  itself 
condemn  me  ?  Beware  you  do  not  wake  these  sleeping  lions, 
by  the  searching  out  some  neglected  moth-eaten  records  ;  they 
may  one  day  tear  you  and  your  posterity  to  pieces.  It  was 
your  ancestors'  care  to  chain  them  up  within  the  barricadoes 
of  statutes ;  be  not  you  ambitious  to  be  more  skilful  and  curi- 
ous than  your  forefathers  in  the  art  of  killing.  For  my  poor 
self,  were  it  not  for  your  lordships'  interest,  and  the  interest 
of  a  saint  in  heaven,  who  had  left  me  those  sacred  pledges  on 
earth," — at  this  his  breath  stopped,  and  he  shed  tears  abun- 
dantly on  mentioning  his  wife,  but  looking  up  again  immedi- 
ately, he  continued — "  I  should  never  take  the  pains  to  keep 
up  this  ruinous  cottage  of  mine  ;  it  is  laden  with  such  infirmi- 
ties, that,  in  truth,  I  have  no  great  pleasure  to  carry  it  about 
with  me  any  longer."  Again  he  stopped,  as  if  seeking  an 
idea  :  "  My  lords, — my  lords, — my  lords,  something  more  I 
had  to  say,  but  my  voice  and  spirits  fail  me  ;  only  I  do,  in  all 
humility  and  submission,  cast  myself  down  before  your  lord- 
ships' feet ;  and  whether  your  judgment  in  my  case  be  either 
for  life  or  death,  it  shall  be  righteous  in  my  eyes,  and  received 
with  a  Te  Deum  laudamus." 

The  auditory  were  seized  with  pity  and  admiration.  Pym 
was  about  to  answer ;  Strafford  looked  at  him ;  menace 
gleamed  in  the  immobility  of  his  mien  ;  his  pale  and  pro- 
truded lip  bore  the  expression  of  passionate  scorn  ;  Pym  was 
agitated,  and  paused  ;  his  hands  trembled,  and  he  sought  with- 
out finding  it  a  paper  which  was  just  before  his  eyes.  It  was 
the  answer  he  had  prepared,  and  which  he  read  without  being 
listened  to  by  any  one,  himself  hastening  to  finish  an  harangue 
foreign  to  the  feelings  of  the  assembly,  and  which  he  had 
great  difficulty  in  delivering.* 

Emotion  passes  away,  anger  remains !  that  of  Pym  and  his 
friends  was  at  its  height.  They  hastened  the  second  reading 
of  the  bill  of  attainder  (April   14).     In  vain  did  Selden,  the 

*  State  Trials,  iii.,  1469. 


\ 


128 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


oldest  and  most  illustrious  of  the  defenders  of  liberty,  Hol- 
borne,  one  of  Hampden's  counsel  in  the  affair  of  shipmoney, 
and  several  others,*  oppose  it.  It  was  now  the  only  resource 
of  the  party  ;  for  they  clearly  saw  that  the  lords  would  not 
condemn  Strafford  as  judges  and  in  the  name  of  the  law. 
They  even  wished  the  trial  to  be  at  once  suspended,  that 
Strafford's  counsel  should  not  be  heard  ;  and  such  was  their 
violence,  that  they  talked  of  summoning  to  the  bar  and  pun- 
ishing *'  those  insolent  counsel  who  dared  to  undertake  the 
defence  of  a  man  whom  the  house  had  declared  guilty  of  high 
treason."  The  lords  resisted  these  outrageous  propositions ; 
Strafford's  counsel  were  heard,  but  the  commons  did  not  an- 
swer them,  did  not  even  go  to  hear  them,  saying  it  was  beneath 
their  dignity  to  dispute  with  lawyers  ;  and  four  days  after, 
notwithstanding  the  active  opposition  of  lord  Digby,  till  then 
one  of  Strafford's  most  furious  assailants,  the  bill  of  attainder 
passed  its  third  reading  (Apr.  2l).f 

At  this  intelligence  the  afflicted  king  only  thought  how  he 
might  save  the  earl,  no  matter  at  what  price  :  "  Be  sure,"  he 
wrote  to  him,  "  on  my  royal  word,  that  you  shall  not  suffer, 
either  in  your  life,  or  in  your  fortune,  or  in  your  honor." 
Every  engine  was  set  at  work  with  all  the  blind  haste  of  fear 
and  grief.  The  chiefs  of  the  commons  were  offered  all  sorts 
of  concessions  ;  a  plot  was  concerted  for  the  escape  of  the  pri- 
soner. But  the  plot  injured  the  negotiations,  the  negotiations 
the  plot.  The  earl  of  Bedford,  who  appeared  disposed  to  some 
compliance,  died  suddenly.  The  earl  of  Essex,  in  answer  to 
Hyde,  who  was  speaking  of  the  insurmountable  resistance 
that  the  king's  conscience  would  oppose  to  the  bill,  said  : — 
*'  The  king  is  obliged  to  conform  himself  and  his  own  under- 
standing to  the  advice  and  conscience  of  his  parliament. ":j: 
Sir  William  Balfour,  the  governor  of  the  Tower,  was  offered 
20,000/.  and  one  of  Strafford's  daughters  in  marriage  for  his 
5on,  if  he  would  aid  his  escape  ;  he  refused.  He  was  or- 
dered to  receive  into  the  prison,  under  the  name  of  guards,  a 
hundred  chosen  men,  commanded  by  Captain  Billingsley,  a 
discontented  officer ;  he  informed  the  commons  of  the  offer 
and  of  the  order.  Every  day  witnessed  the  formation  and 
failure  of  some  new  plan  for  the  preservation  of  the  earl.     At 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


129 


♦  State  Trials,  iii.,  1469. 
X  lb.,  i.,  377. 


t  Clarendon,  i.,  359,  et passim. 


last,  the  king,  contrary  to  Strafford's  own  judgment,  caused 
both  houses  to  be  summoned,  and,  acknowledging  the  earl's 
faults  and  promising  that  he  would  never  employ  him  again, 
not  even  as  a  constable,  declared,  at  the  same  time,  that  no 
argument,  no  fear,  would  ever  make  him  consent  to  his  death 
(May  1). 

But  the  hatred  of  the  commons  was  inflexible,  and  more 
daring  than  the  king's  grief:  they  had  foreseen  his  resistance, 
and  prepared  the  means  of  overcoming  it.  Ever  since  the 
bill  of  attainder  had  been  carried  to  the  upper  house,  the  mul- 
titude assembled  daily  round  Westminster  Hall,  armed  with 
swords,  knives,  and  sticks,  shouting,  "  Justice  !  Justice  !"  and 
menacing  the  lords  who  delayed  their  vote.*  Arundelf  was 
obliged  to  get  out  of  his  carriage,  and,  hat  in  hand,  beg  of  the 
multitude  to  retire,  undertaking  to  press  the  accomplishment 
of  their  wishes.  Fifty-nine  members  of  the  commons  had 
voted  against  the  bill ;  their  names  were  placarded  in  the 
streets,  with  these  words  :  Here  are  the  Straffordians^  traitors  to 
their  country  f  The  pulpit  sent  forth  similar  denunciations  ; 
the  ministers  preached  and  prayed  for  the  punishment  of  a 
great  delinquent.  The  lords,  acting  upon  a  message  from  the 
king,  complained  of  these  disorders  to  the  commons  (May  3), 
the  commons  returned  no  answer.  J  Yet  the  bill  still  remained 
in  suspense.  A  decisive  blow,  kept  in  reserve  for  such  an 
occasion,  was  resolved  upon :  Pym,  summoning  fear  to  the 
aid  of  vengeance,  from  his  place  in  the  house,  denounced  the 
plot  of  the  court  and  the  officers  to  raise  the  army  against  the 
parliament  (May  3).§  Some  of  those  implicated  absconded, 
which  confirmed  every  suspicion.  A  wild  terror  took  posses- 
sion of  the  house  and  of  the  people.  It  was  resolved  that  the 
doors  should  be  closed,  and  that  all  members'  letters  should  be 
opened  (May  11).||  Absurd  alarms  still  further  added  to  the 
agitation  of  men's  minds.  A  report  was  spread  in  the  city 
(May  15)  that  the  house  of  commons,  having  been  undermined, 
was  about  to  be  blown  up  ;  the  militia  took  to  their  arms  ;  an 
immense  multitude  rushed  to  Westminster.  Sir  Walter  Earl 
hastened  to  inform  the  house  of  the  rumor ;  as  he  was  speak- 
ing, Mr.   Middleton  and  Mr.   Moyle,  remarkably  corpulent 


♦  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  755  ;  Whitelocke,  45. 

t  Lord  Montgomery,  according  to  Whitelocke,  ib. 

X  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  778.  §  lb.,  776. 


II  lb.,  788. 


130 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


131 


men,  rose  suddenly  to  listen  to  him  ;  the  floor  creaked  :  "  The 
house  is  blowing  up !"  cried  several  of  the  members,  rushing 
out  of  the  hall,  which  was  immediately  thronged  with  the 
populace ;  and  there  was  another  scene  of  the  same  nature  in 
the  course  of  the  week.*  In  the  midst  of  so  much  excite- 
ment, measures  skilfully  planned  were  establishing  the  empire 
of  the  commons  and  the  success  of  their  designs.  In  imita- 
tion of  the  Scottish  covenant,  an  oath  of  union,  for  the  defence 
of  the  protestant  religion  and  the  public  liberties,  was  taken 
by  both  houses  ;  the  commons  even  wished  to  extend  it  to  the 
people ;  and  on  the  lords  declining  to  sanction  this,  declared 
whoever  should  refuse  to  take  it  incapable  of  holding  any  office 
in  church  or  state. f  Finally,  to  secure  the  future  from  any 
peril,  a  bill  was  proposed,  declaring  that  this  parliament  could 
not  be  dissolved  without  its  own  consent  (May  7). J  Even 
this  daring  measure  scarcely  occasioned  any  surprise ;  the 
necessity  of  giving  a  guarantee  to  loans,  now,  it  was  said, 
more  difficult  to  obtain  than  ever,  served  as  a  pretext ;  the 
general  excitement  stifled  all  objection.  The  lords  attempted 
to  amend  the  bill,  but  in  vain :  the  upper  house  was  con- 
quered ;  and  the  judges  now  extended  to  its  weakness  the 
sanction  of  their  own  cowardice ;  they  declared  that  within 
the  meaning  of  the  law  the  crimes  of  Straflford  really  consti- 
tuted high  treason. §  The  bill  of  attainder  was  submitted  to  a 
last  debate  :  thirty-four  of  the  lords  who  had  attended  the  trial 
absented  themselves  ;  among  those  present,  twenty-six  voted 
for  the  bill,  nineteen  against  it  (May  7),||  nothing  more  was 
needed  but  the  king's  consent. 

Charles  still  resisted,  thinking  himself  incapable  of  such 
dishonor.  He  sent  for  Holies,  Strafford's  brother-in-law,  and 
who,  on  this  ground,  had  taken  no  part  in  the  prosecution. 
"  What  can  be  done  to  save  him  ?"  he  asked,  with  anguish. 
Holies  advised  that  Strafford  should  solicit  the  king  for  a 
reprieve,  and  that  the  king  should  go  in  person  to  present  his 
petition  to  parliament,  in  a  speech  which  Holies  himself  drew 
up  on  the  spot :  at  the  same  time,  he  promised  to  do  all  in  his 
power  to  induce  his  friends  to  be  satisfied  with  the  earl's 
banishment :  the  matter  thus  arranged,  they  parted.    Already, 

*  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  783.  f  lb.,  778  ;  Neal,  ii.,382. 

t  Clarendon,  i.,  409;  Whitelocke,  45  ;  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  786. 
§  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  737.  ||  lb. 


it  is  said,  the  efforts  of  Holies  had  met  with  some  success, 
when  the  queen,  ever  hostile  to  Strafford,  alarmed  at  the  out- 
breaks of  the  people,  each  day  more  violent,  and  moreover,  it 
is  reported,  fearing,  from  the  information  of  some  of  her  con- 
fidants, that  to  save  his  life,  the  earl  had  engaged  to  reveal  all 
he  knew  of  her  intrigues,  came  and  beset  the  king  with  her 
suspicions  and  terrors  :*  her  alarm  was  so  great  that  she 
wished  to  fly,  to  return  to  France,  and  she  was  already  making 
preparations  for  her  departure. f  Moved  by  the  tears  of  his 
wife,  incapable  of  deciding  for  himself,  Charles  first  assem- 
bled a  privy  council,  and  then  the  bishops.  Juxon,  bishop  of 
London,  alone  counselled  him  to  obey  his  conscience ;  all  the 
others,  the  bishop  of  Lincoln,  in  particular,  an  intriguing 
prelate,  long  opposed  to  the  court,  urged  him  to  sacrifice  an 
individual  to  the  throne,  his  conscience  as  a  man  to  his  con- 
science as  a  king.:):  He  had  scarce  quitted  the  council 
chamber,  when  a  letter  from  Strafford  was  delivered  to  him 
(May  9):  <*  Sire,"  wrote  the  earl,  "after  a  long  and  hard 
struggle,  I  have  come  to  the  only  resolution  befitting  me ;  all 
private  interest  should  give  way  to  the  happiness  of  your 
sacred  person,  and  of  the  state.  I  entreat  you  to  remove,  by 
attending  to  this  bill,  the  obstacle  which  prevents  a  happy 
concord  between  you  and  your  subjects.  Sire,  my  consent 
herein  shall  acquit  you  more  to  God  than  all  the  world  can 
do  beside.  To  a  willing  man  there  is  no  injury  done.  By 
God's  grace,  my  soul,  about  to  quit  this  body,  forgives  all  men 
all  things,  with  infinite  contentment.  I  only  ask  that  you 
would  grant  to  my  poor  son  and  his  three  sisters,  as  much 
kindness,  neither  more  nor  less,  as  their  unfortunate  father 
shall  be  deemed  to  merit,  according  as  he  shall  one  day  ere 
long  be  held  guilty  or  innocent. ''§ 

The  next  day,  the  secretary  of  state,  Carleton,  went,  on 
the  part  of  the  king,  to  inform  Strafford  that  he  had  consented 
to  the  fatal  bill.  (May  10.)  The  earl  seemed  somewhat  sur- 
prised, and,  for  his  only  answer,  raising  his  hands  to  heaven, 

*  Burnet's  Own  Times. 

t  See  a  letter  of  M.  de  Montreuil,  the  French  minister,  dated  the 
23d  May,  1641 ;  Mazure,  Hist,  de  la  Revolution  de  1688,  iii.,  422. 
t  Clarendon,  i.,  398.  §  State  Trials,  iii.,  1516. 


n 


111 


111 


132 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


exclaimed,  "  Nolite  confidere  principibus  et  filiis  hominum, 
quia  non  est  salus  in  illis.''* 

Instead  of  going  in  person,  as  he  had  promised  Holies,  to 
beg  a  reprieve  of  parliament,  the  king  contented  himself  with 
sending  by  the  prince  of  Wales,  a  letter,  which  concluded 
with  this  postscript,  "  If  he  must  die,  it  would  be  a  charity  to 
spare  him  till  Saturday."  The  houses  read  the  letter  twice, 
and  without  noticing  this  cold  request,  ordered  the  execution 
for  the  next  day.     (May  11.) 

The  governor  of  the  Tower,  who  was  to  accompany  Straf- 
ford,"!"  urged  him  to  take  a  carriage,  to  escape  the  violence  of 
the  people  :  "  No,  Master  lieutenant,"  answered  he,  "  I  dare 
look  death  in  the  face,  and  I  hope  the  people  too.  Have  you 
a  care  that  I  do  not  escape,  and  I  care  not  how  I  die,  whether 
by  the  hand  of  the  executioner,  or  by  the  madness  and  fury 
of  the  people ;  if  that  may  give  them  better  content,  it  is  all 
one  to  me :"  and  he  went  out  on  foot,  preceding  the  guards, 
and  looking  around  on  all  sides,  as  if  he  had  been  marching 
at  the  head  of  an  army.  As  he  passed  the  chamber  where 
Laud  was  imprisoned,  he  stopped ;  the  evening  before  he  had 
sent  to  request  him  to  be  at  the  window,  and  to  bless  him 
on  his  way :  "  My  lord,"  he  bowed  and  said,  "  your  prayers 
and  your  blessing."  The  archbishop  extended  his  arms  to- 
wards him,  but  of  a  mind  less  firm  than  his  friend's,  and  that 
enervated  by  age,  he  fell  back  senseless.  "  Farewell,  my 
lord,"  said  Strafford,  as  he  moved  on,  "  God  protect  your  in- 
nocency  !"  Arrived  at  the  scaffold,  he  ascended  without  hesi- 
tation, followed  by  his  brother,  the  ministers  of  the  church, 
and  several  of  his  friends,  knelt  down  an  instant,  then  rose 
and  addressed  the  people  :  "  I  desire,"  said  he,  "  for  this  king- 
dom, every  earthly  prosperity ;  while  I  lived,  this  was  my 
constant  endeavor;  dying,  it  is  my  only  wish.  But  I  entreat 
each  and  all  of  you,  who  listen  to  me,  to  examine  yourselves 
seriously,  your  hands  on  your  hearts,  whether  the  beginning 
reformation  of  a  kingdom  should  be  written  in  characters  of 
blood ;  think  over  this  when  you  go  to  your  homes.  Never 
let  me  be  so  unhappy,  that  the  least  drop  of  my  blood  should 
rise  up  in  judgment  against  any  of  you ;  but  I  fear  you  are 

*  **  Put  not  your  trust  in  princes,  nor  in  the  sons  of  men,  for  in  them 
there  is  no  salvation." — Whitelocke,  46. 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


183 


t  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  760. 


in  a  wrong  way."  He  knelt  down  again,  and  prayed  for  a 
quarter  of  an  hour ;  then,  turning  to  his  friends,  he  took  leave 
of  them  all,  shaking  hands  with  each,  and  giving  each  some 
advice.  ''  Now,"  said  he,  "  I  have  nigh  done  !  one  stroke 
will  make  my  wife  husbandless,  my  dear  children  fatherless, 
and  my  poor  servants  masterless,  and  will  separate  me  from 
my  dear  brother  and  all  my  friends  !  But  let  God  be  to  you 
and  them  all  in  all !"  As  he  disrobed,  "  I  thank  God,"  added 
he,  *<  I  am  not  afraid  of  death,  nor  daunted  with  any  discou- 
ragement rising  from  my  fears  ;  but  do  as  cheerfully  put  off 
my  doublet  at  this  time  as  ever  I  did  when  I  went  to  bed." 
He  called  the  executioner,  forgave  him,  prayed  an  instant, 
laid  his  head  on  the  block,  and  gave  the  signal  himself.  His 
head  fell ;  the  executioner  held  it  up  to  the  people,  saying, 
"  God  save  the  king  !"  Violent  acclamations  burst  forth  ; 
several  bands  of  men  spread  through  the  city,  celebrating 
their  victory  with  loud  shouts;  but  others  retired  silently, 
filled  with  doubt  and  uneasiness  as  to  the  justice  of  the  wish 
they  had  just  seen  fulfilled.* 

Disturbed  by  the  exhibition  of  the  latter  feeling,  the  com- 
mons did  all  in  their  power  to  repress  it ;  nothing  more 
irritates  conquerors  than  to  find  a  dead  enemy  still  dangerous. 
Mr.  Taylor,  for  having  said,  in  private  conversation,  that  they 
had  committed  a  murder  with  the  sword  of  justice,  was  sent 
to  the  Tower,  expelled  the  house,  and  declared  incapable  of 
ever  taking  his  seat  again  (May  27).f  Lord  Digby  had  pub- 
lished his  speech  against  the  bill  of  attainder;  the  house  for- 
bade its  circulation,  and  had  it  burnt  by  the  common  hang- 
man (July  13).^  Never  had  their  strength  appeared  so 
great,  so  firmly  established  ;  the  king  consenting  to  the  death 
of  the  earl,  had  also  adopted,  almost  without  looking  at  it,  the 
bill  which  deprived  him  of  the  right  of  dissolving  parliament 
without  its  own  consent.  Yet  the  commons  still  needed  secu- 
rity ;  and  the  more  their  power  increased,  the  more  they  felt 
impelled  towards  tyranny.  The  king,  in  delivering  up  Straf- 
ford to  them,  had  lowered  himself  in  their  eyes,  but  given 
them  no  greater  confidence  in  him,  and  hatred,  still  deeper 
than  before,  redoubled  their  mistrust.  A  royalist  party,  be- 
sides that  of  the  court,  began,  moreover,  to  form  amongst  them. 

•  State  Trials,  iii.,  1521 ;  Warwick's  Mem.  (1702),  164. 
t  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  815.  J  lb.,  754. 

12 


I! 


M   i 


1/ 


lilt    i 


134 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


Pym,  Hampden  and  Holies  found  themselves  obliged  to  ally 
themselves  more  and  more  closely  with  the  sectaries,  and  this 
alliance  displeased  even  the  warm  friends  of  liberty.  "  To 
what  purpose,"  they  asked,  "  embarrass  political  reform  with 
doubtful  questions  ?  In  matters  of  worship  and  discipline, 
opinion  differs ;  against  absolute  power,  England  is  unani- 
mous ;  that  is  the  only  enemy  we  should  hunt  down  without 
mercy."  Sometimes  this  view  of  things  prevailed,  and  the 
house,  resuming  the  examination  of  grievances,  recovered  its 
unanimity.  The  abolition  of  the  star  chamber,  of  the  north- 
ern court,  the  court  of  high  commission,  of  all  arbitrary  tribu- 
nals, was  definitively  pronounced,  and  the  king,  after  two 
days'  hesitation,  gave  his  assent  (July  5).*  Political  reform, 
such,  at  least,  as  it  had  at  first  been  wished  for  and  conceived, 
seemed  accomplished ;  but  to  what  purpose  set  it  down  in 
statutes,  if  the  carrying  it  out  was  to  be  left  to  its  enemies  ? 
The  king's  hesitation,  the  rumors  of  plots,  the  defections  per- 
ceived or  foreseen  in  the  army  and  the  parliament,  awakened 
alarm ;  to  lose  power,  the  parliamentary  leaders  felt  would 
be  to  ruin  themselves  and  their  cause  ;  to  retain  it,  the  assist- 
ance of  the  people  was  necessary,  and  the  people,  devoted  to 
the  presbyterians,  claimed  in  its  turn  a  share  of  the  triumph. 
All  the  motions  against  the  church  re-appeared  ;  the  Scots 
even  began  openly  to  solicit  for  uniformity  of  worship  in  the 
two  countries.  These  attempts  once  more  failed  ;  and  then 
ill  success,  the  perplexity  into  which  both  houses  were 
thrown  by  so  many  passions  and  heterogeneous  designs,  gave 
to  their  proceedings  an  appearance  of  uncertainty  and  weari- 
ness, out  of  which  some  promised  themselves  repose.  But  the 
religious  struggle  became  more  and  more  decided ;  the  sec- 
taries grew  bolder,  the  church  was  more  and  more  shaken. 
Even  in  the  upper  house,  her  firmest  support,  everything  at- 
tested her  decline :  the  spiritual  lords  were  no  longer,  accord- 
ing to  ancient  custom,  mentioned  separately  at  the  head  of  the 
bills ;  the  clerk  of  the  house,  when  reading  them,  affected  to 
turn  his  back  to  the  bench  of  bishops,  and  in  public  ceremo- 
nies the  temporal  lords  assumed  the  precedence.f  These 
symptoms  did  not  escape  the  presbyterian  party,  who  inces- 
santly renewed  their  attacks,  took  the  lead  of  the  political  re- 


•Parl.  Hist,  ii.,  853. 


t  Ncal,  ii.,  410,  411 


ENGLISH  REVOLUTION. 


135 


formers,  whom  they  maintained  in  the  possession  of  power, 
and,  notwithstanding  apparent  reverses,  daily  advanced  towards 
success. 

The  king,  all  at  once,  recalled  to  mind  his  project  of  visit- 
ing Scotland,  where  the  execution  of  the  treaty  of  peace,  at 
last  about  to  be  concluded,  called,  he  said,  for  his  presence. 
At  the  same  time  it  was  stated  that  the  queen,  giving  out  ill 
health  as  the  pretext,  was  preparing  to  depart  for  the  conti- 
nent. The  malcontent  army  lay  on  the  road  the  king  would 
take,  and  the  queen's  connexions  with  the  continent  had  long 
been  matter  of  suspicion.  This  double  journey,  sudden  and 
simultaneous,  gave  distrust  the  fuel  it  required.  Its  doubts 
were  quite  legitimate.  Without  power  or  influence  in  Lon- 
don, surrounded  by  useless  courtiers  and  panic-struck  coun- 
cillors, Charles  had  turned  his  thoughts  towards  the  kingdom 
of  his  fathers,  and  the  absolute  monarchs  of  Europe.  In  Scot- 
land, he  intended,  by  yielding  all  demands,  both  as  to  church 
and  state,  to  gain  the  good-will  of  the  people,  and  to  load  the 
lords  with  favors.  In  the  army,  a  visit  from  him,  and  the 
conciliatory  deportment  he  contemplated,  could  not  fail  to  in- 
crease the  number  of  his  partisans.  As  to  the  continent,  his 
views  were  less  precise  ;  but  without  imagining  or  even  fore- 
seeing war,  he  already  sought  money  and  allies.  The  com- 
mons did  not  give  utterance  to  their  suspicions  ;  but  they  re- 
quired that  the  queen  should  not  leave  London,  and  that  the 
king  should  defer  his  departure  (June  26).  Charles  exhibited 
some  displeasure  at  this,  affecting  to  regard  the  request  as  an 
unmeaning  caprice.  To  make  it  supposed  that  he  attached 
no  importance  to  his  answer,  he  referred  the  commons  for  it 
to  the  Scottish  commissioners,  who,  he  said,  solicited  him  to 
hasten  his  journey,  and  to  the  queen  herself.  The  Scots  wil- 
lingly agreed  to  a  delay  ;  and  the  queen  readily  promised  not 
to  depart.*  Reassured  for  a  moment,  the  commons  pressingly 
urged  the  disbanding  of  the  army,  hitherto  purposely  retarded. 
Letters  from  the  house  guaranteed  the  troops  the  prompt  pay- 
ment of  their  demands.  To  provide  for  this,  some  zealous 
citizens  had  their  plate  melted  ;  fresh  loans  were  ordered,  new 
taxes  imposed. f     But  the  disbanding  proceeded  slowly,  from 


•Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  846,.  et  seq. 
t  May,  i.,  105  ;  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  841, 
loan  was  fixed  at  ten  per  cent. 


The  interest  demanded  for  thii 


136 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


137 


the  want  of  money,  and  also  from  the  difficulties  interposed  by- 
many  of  the  officers.*  The  king  secretly  congratulated  him- 
self upon  this  circumstance ;  it  made  the  commons  resume 
their  anxieties.  The  delay  agreed  upon  had  now  expired. 
The  commons  solicited  another,  but  without  success  (Aug. 
8)  ;f  the  king  announced  that  he  was  about  to  depart.  The 
house  started  the  project  of  demanding  that  a  regent  should  be 
appointed  during  his  absence,  that  public  business  might  not 
be  suspended  ;  but  the  idea  was  not  acted  upon. if  The  king 
contented  himself  with  naming  the  earl  of  Essex  captain* 
general  south  of  Trent,  and  departed  on  the  lOth  of  August, 
full  of  hopes  which  he  could  not  help  giving  vague  utterance 
to,  but  of  which  no  one  could  conceive  the  grounds. 

The  house  was  not  long  in  perceiving  that  they  only  lost 
time  by  sitting  uncertain  and  inactive  during  his  absence.  It 
was  much  more  important  to  them  to  watch  closely  their  ad- 
versaries, and  to  refresh  the  zeal  of  their  partisans  in  the 
counties.  After  a  fortnight  of  barren  sittings,  they  resolved  to 
adjourn  (Aug.  27). §  Many  of  the  members  wished  to  look 
after  their  private  concerns,  or  to  take  some  repose  ;  but  the 
leaders  allowed  themselves  no  rest  whatever.  A  committee 
under  the  direction  of  Hampden  was  sent  to  Scotland,  to  re- 
main near  the  king,  and  watch  over  the  interests  of  parlia- 
ment. ||  Another  committee,  numerous  and  invested  with 
large  powers,  sat  at  Westminster  in  the  interval  of  the  two 
sessions  ;  Pym  acted  as  its  chairman.  The  house  of  lords 
took  similar  measures.^  A  great  many  members  spread 
themselves  over  the  country,  eager  to  diffiise  their  sentiments 
and  their  fears.  Both  parties,  under  the  appearance  of  a 
truce,  were  seeking  abroad  new  strength,  both  meditating  new 
contests. 

In  passing  through  the  English  army,  which  was  disband- 
ing, and  the  Scottish  army,  which  was  returning  home,  the 
king  did  not  think  it  advisable  to  stop  long.  Still  his  attempts 
with  the  soldiers,  particularly  among  the  officers,  were  so 
public  that  lord  Holland,  who  presided  over  the  disbanding, 

♦  Clarendon,  i.,  422.  f  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  897.  %  lb.,  892. 

§The  recess  was  to  last  from  Sept.  8  to  Oct.  20 ;  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  904. 

flParL  Hist.,  ii.,  902.     This  committee  was  composed  of  six  mem 
bers — namely,  the  earl  of  Bedford,  lord  Howard,  sir  William  Armyn, 
sir  Philip  Stapleton,  Nathaniel  Fiennes,  and  John  Hampden. 

irib. 


wrote  an  anxious  letter  on  the  subject  to  the  earl  of  Essex* 
(Aug.  16),  adding,  that  on  his  return  to  London  he  would  tell 
him  more.  Arrived  in  Edinburgh,  Charles  made  to  the  par- 
liament and  church  of  Scotland  all  the  concessions  they  de- 
manded :  triennial  parliaments,  the  abrogation  of  the  ancient 
prerogatives  of  the  crown,  the  prosecution  of  the  principal  op- 
ponents of  the  covenant,  even  the  intervention  of  parliament 
in  the  nomination  of  the  privy  council,  nothing  was  refused. 
The  king  lent  himself  to  the  presbyterian  worship,  with  a 
gravity  which  had  nothing  of  the  air  of  mere  complaisance 
about  it,  assiduously  attending  their  frequent  prayers,  and  lis- 
tening attentively  to  their  long  sermons  ;  and,  whether  lay- 
men or  ecclesiastics,  noblemen  or  citizens,  the  chiefs  of  the 
covenanters  were  treated  with  marked  favors  ;  titles,  offices, 
promises,  pensions  were  lavished  upon  them. 

On  a  sudden,  rumor  went  through  the  city  (early  in  October) 
that  the  most  influential  noblemen  in  parliament,  Hamilton  and 
Argyle,  had  quitted  it,  followed  by  their  friends,  and  had  re- 
tired to  Kinneil  castle,  the  residence  of  the  earl  of  Lanark, 
Hamilton's  brother,  to  escape  the  danger  of  an  arrest  and  even 
of  assassination.  The  astonishment  at  this  was  extreme  ;  all 
asked,  none  could  give  an  answer,  what  had  inspired  the  fugi- 
tives with  such  fears,  the  king  with  such  designs.  Strange 
conjectures  spread  abroad  ;  the  king  haughtily  complained  of 
them  as  an  insult,  and  demanded  of  parliament  the  ex- 
clusion of  Hamilton,  till  his  honor  was  vindicated.  The 
parliament,  firm  but  circumspect,  formed  no  sudden  decision, 
but  ordered  an  inquiry.  Numerous  witnesses  were  heard  ;  the 
committee  made  its  report ;  it  declared,  without  going  into 
particulars,  that  there  was  no  occasion  of  reparation  to  the 
king,  of  fear  to  the  fugitives.  The  two  noblemen  returned  to 
parliament,  remained  silent,  as  did  Charles,  on  what  had 
passed,  and  from  them  the  public  learned  nothing  further. 

Neither  party  wished  it  should  be  better  informed ;  but, 
meantime,  the  matter  had  somehow  been  explained  to  it.  At 
the  time  the  king,  in  order  to  gain  over  Scotland  against  Eng- 
land, was  making  so  many  concessions,  he  was  meditating  the 
overthrow  of  his  enemies  in  both  kingdoms.  Convinced  that 
the  judges  could  not  do  otherwise  than  condemn  as  treason  the 

*  Clarendon,  i.,  424. 
12* 


I1 


188 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


correspondence  of  the  English  malcontents  with  the  Scottish 
covenanters,  which  preceded  and  perhaps  produced  the  last  in- 
vasion, he  had  come  to  Scotland  himself  to  seek  for  proofs, 
purposing  on  his  return,  to  bring  against  the  leaders  of  the 
commons  that  accusation  which  Strafford,  anticipated  by  their 
more  rapid  movements,  had  not  been  able  even  to  announce. 
A  young  and  daring  nobleman,  at  first  devoted  to  the  covenant, 
but  since  restored  to  the  king's  favor,  the  earl  of  Montrose,  had 
engaged  to  procure  for  him  the  so  anxiously  desired  documents. 
Relying  upon  this  promise,  Charles  commenced  his  journey  to 
the  North  ;  but  before  he  arrived,  a  letter  in  cipher,  intercepted 
by  Argyle,  had  excited  the  suspicion  of  the  Scots,  and  the 
king  found  Montrose  in  prison.  Animated  by  the  danger  and 
burning  for  revenore,  the  earl  sent  him  word  that  if  he  could 
see  him  he  would  acquaint  him  with  his  real  enemies,  and 
their  past  machinations.  By  the  aid  of  some  trusty  friends, 
Montrose  secretly  quitted  his  prison,  went  at  night  to  the  king's 
bedchamber,  told  him  all  he  knew,  accused  Hamilton  of  having, 
with  Argyle,  taken  part  in  the  plans  of  the  malcontents,  assured 
the  king  that  their  papers  would  furnish  proofs  of  this,  and 
finally  persuaded  him  to  secure  at  once  the  persons  of  these 
noblemen,  and  to  have  them  summarily  dispatched  if  they 
resisted.  Ever  ready  to  adopt  daring  resolves,  and  without 
thinking  of  the  effect  which  so  violent  an  act  could  not  fail  to 
produce  on  the  minds  of  the  people  whom  he  was  seeking  to 
conciliate,  Charles  consented  to  everything ;  the  plot  proceeded 
simultaneously  with  the  concessions,  and  everything  was  ready 
for  its  execution,  when  the  two  lords,  warned  in  time,  caused 
the  whole  thing  to  fail  by  their  public  departure.* 

The  Scottish  parliament  wisely  did  its  best  to  stifle  the 
affair ;  it  no  longer  feared  the  peril,  and  did  not  wish  to  endan- 
ger what  it  had  just  obtained,  by  pushing  matters  to  extremity. 
The  king  himself,  to  conceal  his  designs  and  their  want  of 
success,  raised  Hamilton  to  the  rank  of  duke,  Argyle  to  that 
of  marquis ;  Lesley  was  created  earl  of  Leven  ;  but  Hamp- 
den and  the  English  committee,  well  informed  of  all  that  had 
taken  place,  hastened  to  send  word  of  it  to  London,  whefe  the 
parliament  was  about  to  meet.     Fear  seized  the  party  there.f 

•  Hardwicke's  State  Papers,  ii.,209;  Clarendon,  i.,  463;  Burnei, 
Mem.  of  the  Hamiltons,  148-171 ;  Baillie's  Letters,  i.,  329,  et  seq. ; 
Laing,  Hist,  of  Scotland,  iii.,  228  and  347  ;  Brodie,  iii.,  142,  156. 

t  Evelyn's  Mem.,  ii.,  Append.,  p.  40,  46;  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  914. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


139 


With  all  their  distrust  they  had  not  anticipated  such  dangers 
as  these,  and  the  leaders  thought  their  former  relations  with 
the  Scottish  insurgents  had  been  pardoned,  together  with  the 
rebellion  itself,  by  the  last  treaty  of  peace.    At  this  indication 
of  the  king's  obstinately  vindictive  intentions,  men,  otherwise 
moderate,    thought    themselves    irredeemably    compromised. 
Mr.  Hyde,  meeting  lord  Essex  and  lord  Holland,  who  were 
anxiously  discussing  the  news,  ridiculed  their  fears,  and  re- 
minded them  of  what  they  themselves  thought  of  Hamilton  and 
Argyle  a  year  before :  "Both  the  times  and  the  court,"  they 
replied,  «  are  much  altered  since  that."*     On  the  first  day  of 
their  assembling,  the  commons  applied  to  the  earl  of  Essex  foi 
a  guard,  rendered  indispensable,  they  said,  for  the  safety  of 
parliament.     It  was  at  once  granted.     In  conferences  held  at 
lord  Holland's  house  at  Kensington,  the  leaders  of  both  houses 
communicated  to  each  other  the  information  they  from  time  to 
time  received,  and  their  suspicions,  and  deliberated  what  was 
to  be  done,  all  of  them  agitated,  all  impelled  by  their  uneasi- 
ness to  dare  everything.     "  If  there   be  a  plot  of  the  king 
agamst  us,"  said  lord  Newport,  "  his  wife  and  children  are 
here;"t  and  their  alarms  were  all  the  greater,  because  they 
dared  not  make  use  of  them  to  stir  up  the  people,  for  nothing 
having  transpired  in  Scotland,  in  London  nothing  could  be 
revealed. 

In  the  midst  of  this  secret  agitation,  came  all  of  a  sudden  the 
news  (Nov.  1),  that  an  insurrection,  as  general  as  violent,  had 
covered  Ireland  with  massacre,  and  threatened  with  the  most 
imminent  danger  the  protestant  religion  and  the  parliament. 
The  Irish  catholics,  leaders  and  people,  had  risen  in  every 
direction,  claiming  liberty  for  their  worship  and  their  country, 
invoking  the  name  of  the  queen,  even  of  the  king,  showing  a 
commission  which  they  had,  as  they  said,  received  from  him, 
and  announcing  the  project  of  delivering  themselves  and  the 
throne  from  the  English  puritans,  their  common  oppressors. 
The  conspiracy,  long  preparing  all  over  the  kingdom,  was  dis- 
closed solely  by  chance,  and  that  only  at  Dublin  (Oct.  22),  on 
the  evening  next  before  its  explosion,  so  that  there  was  scarcely 
time  to  secure  from  the  outbreak  the  seat  of  government. 
Everywhere  else  it  met  with  very  little  obstacle ;  on  all  sides 


Clarendon,  i.,  464. 


t  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  984. 


140 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


the  protestants  of  Ireland  were  attacked  unawares,  ejected  from 
their  houses,  hunted  down,  slaughtered,  exposed  to  all  the  perils, 
all  the  torments  that  religious  and  patriotic  hatred  could  invent 
against  heretics,  foreigners,  and  tyrants.  The  most  fearful  and 
dfstressing  accounts  arrived  of  the  miseries  they  were  subjected 
to ;  of  infinite  murders,  of  sufferings  altogether  unprecedented ; 
and  the  evil  was  indeed  so  great,  that  it  might  be  exaggerated, 
according  to  men's  fears  or  designs,  without  offending  truth  or 
exhausting  credulity.*  A  half-savage  people,  passionately 
attached  to  the  barbarism  which  their  oppressors  made  matter 
of  reproach,  while  they  prevented  them  from  quitting  it,  had 
seized  with  transport  the  hope  of  deliverance  which  the  dissen- 
sions  of  their  tyrants  offered  them.  Eager  to  avenge  in  a  day 
ages  of  outrage  and  misery,  they  with  a  proud  joy  committed 
excesses  which  struck  their  ancient  masters  with  horror  and 
dismay.  The  English  authorities  were  utterly  without  the 
means  of  resistance ;  in  its  hatred  to  Strafford  and  the  crown, 
solely  occupied  by  the  design  of  establishing  liberty  in  Eng- 
land, parliament  had  forgotten  that  in  Ireland  it  desired  to  keep 
up  tyranny.  The  treasury  there  had  been  thoroughly  ex- 
hausted, martial  law  abolished,  the  army  reduced  to  an  insig- 
nificant  corps,  the  royal  power  disarmed.  It  had  even,  con- 
trary to  the  king's  wish,  forbidden  the  disbanded  Irish  troops  to 
pass  into  foreign  service  ;t  and  these  had  accordingly  spread 
over  the  country,  adding  their  force  to  the  insurrection. 
Finally,  though  the  earl  of  Leicester  had  been  appointed  suc- 
cessor to  Strafford,  there  was  as  yet  no  viceroy  resident  in 
Ireland ;  the  public  business  was  entrusted  to  two  judges,  desti- 
tute of  capacity  or  influence,^  and  whose  presbyterian  zeal  had 
alone  procured  for  them  this  difficult  office. 

*  May  (ii.,  4)  makes  the  number  of  protestants  who  were  massacred, 
200,000 ;  Clarendon  reduces  it  to  40,000  or  50,000  (ii.,  227).  It  is  pro- 
bable, from  the  correspondence  of  the  judges  then  in  Ireland,  and  the 
inquiry  made  into  the  subject  in  1644,  that  even  the  last  account  is  ex- 
aggerated. Yet  this  inquiry,  which  Mr.  Lingard  (x.,  note  A.,  p.  463, 
469)  considers  as  decisive,  deserves  no  confidence ;  not  only  was  it  made 
three  years  after  the  outbreak,  but  at  an  epoch  when  the  royalist  party 
reigned  absolute  in  Ireland,  and  had  just  made  peace  with  the  catho- 
lics ;  it  had  evidently  for  its  object  to  soften  as  much  as  possible  the 
excesses  of  the  insurgents,  the  sufferings  of  the  protestants,  and  thus  to 
excuse  the  alliance  the  king  was  on  the  point  of  contracting. 

t  Rushworth,  i.,  3,  381. 

X  Sir  William  Parsons  and  sir  John  Borlase. 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


141 


A  cry  of  terror  and  fierce  hate  arose  against  popery  all  over 
England  ;  every  protestant  thought  himself  in  danger.  The 
king,  who  had  received  the  news  in  Scotland,  hastened  to  com- 
municate it  to  the  two  houses,  announcing  certain  measures 
which,  with  the  assistance  of  the  Scots,  he  had  already  taken 
to  repress  the  rebellion,  but  leaving  all  future  management  of 
the  affair  entirely  to  the  care  of  parliament.*  Charles  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  insurrection,  and  the  pretended  commis- 
sion produced  by  Sir  Phelim  O'Neil  was  a  gross  forgery  ;  but 
his  known  hatred  of  the  puritans,  the  confidence  he  had  more 
than  once  manifested  in  the  catholics,  the  intrigues  that  for  the 
last  three  months  he  had  been  carrying  on  in  Ireland,  to  secure 
strongholds  and  soldiers  there  in  case  of  need,"|'  the  promises 
made  by  the  queen,  had  persuaded  the  Irish  that  they  might, 
without  fearing  a  sincere  disavowal,  make  use  of  his  name. 
Ireland  in  rebellion,  Charles  hoped  so  great  a  danger  would 
render  the  parliament  more  tractable  ;  and  without  supporting 
the  rebels,  without  contemplating  for  a  moment  any  alliance 
with  them,  he  was  not,  like  his  people,  seized  with  anger  and 
fear  at  their  revolt ;  he  was  in  no  haste  to  repress  it,  and  left 
the  affair  to  parliament  at  once  to  throw  upon  it  all  the  blame 
for  any  mischances,  and  to  remove  from  himself  the  suspicion 
of  complicity  ;  perhaps,  also,  to  relieve  himself  in  the  eyes  of* 
his  catholic  subjects  from  responsibility  for  the  rigor  they 
would  be  subjected  to. 

But  cunning  is  of  no  avail  against  the  passions  of  a  people  ; 
he  who  will  not  affect  to  adopt  cannot  deceive  them.  The 
leaders  of  the  commons,  more  skilful  and  better  situated,  only 
thought  of  working  them  to  their  own  profit.  Their  uneasi- 
ness had  now  disappeared,  for  the  English  people  thought 
themselves  fallen  into  a  peril  analogous  to  their  own.  Promp* 
to  accept  the  power  offered  them  by  the  king,  notwithstanding 
the  pomp  of  their  declarations  and  the  violence  of  their  threats, 
the  care  of  repressing  the  rebellion  occupied  them  but  little  ; 
the  assistance,  both  in  troops  and  money,  sent  to  Ireland,  was 

*  Clarendon,  i.,  467. 

t  Carte,  Life  of  Ormond,  i.,  132  ;  iii.,  30  ;  Clarendon,  State  Papers, 
ii.,  337 ;  Antrim's  information,  in  the  appendix  to  Clarendon's  History 
of  the  Irish  Rebellion.  The  testimony  given  by  Antrim,  more  espe- 
cially as  to  facts,  does  not,  however,  in  my  opinion,  deserve  the  confi- 
dence placed  in  it  by  Lingard,  x.,  150,  and  Godwin,  i.,  220. 


142 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


weak,  tardy,  and  ill-arranged.  To  England  alone  were  ad- 
dressed all  their  speeches,  all  their  real  action,  and  by  a  step 
as  decisive  as  unexpected,  they  resolved  to  engage  it  inex- 
tricably. 

Shortly  after  the  opening  of  parliament,  a  committee  had 
been  charged  to  prepare  a  general  remonstrance,  setting  forth 
all  the  grievances  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  means  of  redress- 
ing them.  But  the  reform  had  been  so  rapid  that  they  had 
neglected  to  give  much  prominence  to  the  complaints  :  most 
of  the  grievances,  the  political  grievances  at  least,  had  disap- 
peared ;  the  committee  took  no  further  heed  to  its  commission, 
and  no  one  appeared  to  think  any  more  about  it. 

It  now  suddenly  (towards  the  beginning  of  November)  re- 
ceived orders  to  resume  its  labors,  and  to  make  a  report  with- 
out delay.*  In  a  few  days  the  remonstrance  was  drawn  up 
and  submitted  to  the  house.  It  was  no  longer,  according  to 
the  first  intention,  an  exposition  of  actual  and  pressing  abuses, 
and  of  the  unanimous  wish  of  the  country,  but  a  dark  picture 
of  past  evils,  of  old  grievances,  of  all  the  delinquencies  of  the 
king,  contrasted  with  the  merits  of  the  parliament,  and  the 
obstacles  it  had  surmounted,  the  perils  it  had  encountered,  and 
particularly  those  which  still  threatened  it  and  necessitated 
the  utmost  efforts  of  its  power ;  it  was,  in  short,  a  sort  of  ap- 
peal to  the  people,  addressed  more  especially  to  the  fanatical 
presbyterians,  and  which,  fomenting  the  passions  that  the  Irish 
rebellion  had  rekindled,  excited  them  to  devote  themselves  un- 
reservedly to  the  house  of  commons,  alone  capable  of  saving 
them  from  popery,  the  bishops,  and  the  king. 

When  the  remonstrance  was  first  read,  many  murmurs  rose 
against  it ;  an  act  so  hostile,  without  public  grounds,  without 
any  direct  or  apparent  aim,  excited  in  many  members,  till 
then  far  from  friendly  to  the  court,  surprise  and  suspicion ; 
they  complained  of  the  bitterness  of  the  language,  the  futile 
indignation  against  grievances  already  redressed,  of  the  rude- 
ness shown  towards  the  king,  the  hopes  held  out  to  the  secta- 
ries. What  were  the  hidden  designs,  the  unknown  perils  that 
required  such  violent  measures  ?  If  the  remonstrance  was 
destined  for  the  king  alone,  what  good  could  be  expected  from 
it  ?     If  it  was  meant  for  the  people,  what  right  had  its  pro- 

*  Clarendon,  i.,  469. 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


143 


meters  to  appeal  from  the  house  to  the  people.     The  leaders 
of  the  party  said  little  in  reply,  not  being  able  to  say  all ;  but 
in  their  private  conversations,  they  ardently  labored  to  gain 
votes,  protesting  that  they  only  wanted  to  intimidate  the  court 
and  frustrate  its  intrigues ;  and  that  if  the  remonstrance  was 
only  adopted,  they  would  not  publish  it.     This  was  not  with- 
out effect,  for  distrust  was  now  so  catching,  that  men,  other- 
wise of  a  moderate  turn,  received  it  when  suggested  without 
violence,  and  in  the  language  of  reason.     In  a  few  days  (Nov. 
21),  at  the  moment  when  the  house,  afler  a  sitting  of  several 
hours,  was  about  to  rise,  the  leaders  moved  that  the  remon- 
strance should   be  immediately  put  tj  the  vote;   they  had 
reckoned  their  numbers,  and  thought  themselves  sure  of  suc- 
cess ;  but  lord  Falkland,  Hyde,  Colepepper,  Palmer,  opposed 
the  motion  warmly,  insisting  that  it  should  be  adjourned  till 
the  next  day,  to  which  the  house  willingly  assented.     "  Why," 
said  Cromwell  to  lord  Falkland,  ^'  would  you  have  it  put  off? 
the  day  would  quickly  have  determined  it.''     "  There  would 
not  have  been  time  enough,"  said  lord  Falkland,  "  for  sure  it 
would  take  some  debate."     "  A  very  sorry  one,"   answered 
Cromwell,  with  real  or  affected  confidence.     Opened  the  next 
day  at  three  in  the  aflernoon,  when  night  came  the  debate 
seemed  scarcely  begun.     It  was  no  longer  the  court  and  the 
country  contending  ;  for  the  first  time,  there  were  now  engaged 
two  parties,  if  not  both  national,  at  least  both  sprung  from  the 
body  of  the  nation ;  both  putting  themselves  forward  as  the 
upholders  of  public  interests  and   feelings,    both  reckoning 
worthy  and  independent  citizens  among  their  followers.     Com- 
mon hopes  had  united  them;    opposite  fears  divided  them; 
each  sagaciously  foresaw  the  result  which  would  follow  the 
triumph  of  its  adversaries,  but  mistook  that  which  its  own  vic- 
tory would  produce.     They  struggled  with  unexampled  ran- 
cor, and  were  all  the  more  obstinate  that  they  still  observed 
decorum,  and  dared  not  loudly  accuse  each  other,  according  to 
the  dictates  of  their  suspicions.     The  hours  passed  on ;  fatigue 
drove  away  the  weak,  the  indifferent,  and  the  aged  ;  even  one 
of  the  king's  ministers,  the  secretary  of  state,  Nicholas,  left 
the  house  before  the  close  of  the  debate.     "  This,"  said  sir 
Benjamin  Rudyard,  "  will  be  the  verdict  of  a  starving  jury." 
At  length,  towards  midnight  they  divided :  one  hundred  and 
fifly-nine  votes  adopted  the  remonstrance,  one  hundred  and 


144 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


forty-eight  were  against  it.  Forthwith  Hampden  rose,  and 
moved  that  it  should  be  printed  at  once.  "  We  knew  it ! " 
many  cried  ;  "  you  want  to  raise  the  people  and  get  rid  of  the 
lords."  "  The  house,"  said  Mr.  Hyde,  "  is  not  in  the  habit 
of  thus  publishing  its  decisions  ;  in  my  opinion  the  doing  so  is 
not  lawful,  and  would  produce  mischievous  effects ;  if  it  be 
adopted,  let  me  be  allowed  to  protest."  "  I  protest,"  said  Mr. 
Palmer ;  "  I  protest,  I  protest ! "  re-echoed  their  friends. 
This,  again,  with  the  other  party,  gave  rise  to  astonishment 
and  indignation  ;  protests,  in  use  with  the  lords,  were  unknown 
to  the  commons :  Pym  rose  to  demonstrate  their  illegality  and 
danger ;  he  was  interrupted  by  invectives ;  he  persisted,  and 
was  answered  by  threats.  The  whole  house  was  on  its  legs, 
and  several  members,  their  hands  on  their  swords,  seemed  on 
the  point  of  beginning  a  civil  war  within  the  walls  of  parlia- 
ment. Two  hours  passed  away,  the  tumult  recommencing 
with  every  attempt  to  carry  a  resolution.  At  last  Hampden, 
after  deploring  mildly  but  gravely  this  humiliating  disorder, 
proposed  that  the  house  should  rise,  and  adjourn  the  further 
discussion  of  the  question  till  the  afternoon.  They  separated. 
"  Well,"  said  lord  Falkland  to  Cromwell,  as  he  was  going 
out,  "  was  there  a  debate  ?  "  "  I'll  take  your  word  another 
time,"  said  Cromwell ;  and  whispered  him  in  the  ear  with 
some  asseveration — "had  the  remonstrance  been  rejected,  I 
would,  to-morrow,  have  sold  everything  I  possess,  and  never 
seen  England  more ;  and  I  know  many  other  honest  men  of 
the  same  resolution."* 

The  afternoon  sitting  was  comparatively  tranquil ;  the 
royalists  had  given  up  all  hope  of  victory,  and  their  adversa- 
ries had  seen  themselves  so  near  losing  it,  that  they  did  not 
desire  to  renew  the  struggle.  They  had  announced  the  im- 
peachment of  the  protestants ;  but  Mr.  Hyde  had  friends  in 
the  house  who  refused  to  give  him  up.  Mr.  Palmer,  indeed,  was 
sent  to  the  Tower,  but  quitted  it  almost  immediately.  After  some 
mutual  explanations,  this  quarrel  was  hushed  up.  A  majority 
of  twenty-three  ordered  the  remonstrance  to  be  printed. f 
The  execution,  however,  of  the  order  was  delayed,  as  it  was  first 
necessary  to  present  it  to  the  king,  who  was  daily  expected. 

*  Clarendon,  i.,  48,  285  ;  Warwick's  Mem. ;  May,  ii.,  16,  et  seq.  ; 
Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  425;  Whitelocke,  51 
t  Clarendon,  i.,  490 ;   Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  937. 


ENGLISH   REVOLTJTION. 


145 


He  arrived,  confident  and  haughty  (Nov.  25),  notwithstand- 
ing the  check  he  had  received  in  Scotland,  and  what  he  had 
heard  of  the  new  acerbity  of  parliament.  Everywhere  on  his 
way,  particularly  at  York,  he  had  been  received  with  vocifer- 
ous manifestations  of  affection  and  joy.  In  many  places,  his 
concessions  to  the  Scots  had  delighted  the  people ;  his  secret 
machinations  were  unknown,  or  not  understood.  Besides,  in 
the  country,  as  well  as  in  parliament,  the  royalist  party  was 
getting  together,  and  exhibiting  its  feelings.  This  was  the 
case  even  in  the  city  of  London.  The  king's  friends  had 
carried  the  election  of  the  new  lord  mayor,  Richard  Gourney, 
an  active,  courageous  man,  devoted  to  the  king,  who  prepared 
a  most  brilliant  reception  for  his  sovereign.  A  multitude  of 
citizens  on  horseback,  armed,  preceded  by  the  banners  of  the 
various  companies,  went  to  meet  him,  and  escorted  him  with 
acclamations  to  the  palace  of  Whitehall.  The  king  in  return 
gave  them  a  magnificent  banquet,  and  conferred  the  honor  of 
knighthood  on  the  lord  mayor  and  several  of  the  aldermen  ;* 
and  the  day  after  his  arrival,  eager  to  show  the  commons  that 
he  thought  his  position  a  strong  one,  he  withdrew  the  guard 
which,  in  his  absence,  the  earl  of  Essex  had  appointed  for 
their  safety  (Nov.  26).t 

The  aspect  of  affairs  now  changed;  to  the  unanimous 
enthusiasm  of  the  entire  kingdom  succeeded  party  struggles  ; 
to  reform,  revolution.  The  leaders  saw  this,  and  their  conduct 
suddenly  assumed  a  new  character.  The  remonstrance  was 
presented  to  the  king  (Dec.  1) ;  he  patiently  listened  while  it 
was  read  ;  and  then,  addressing  the  committee,  asked :  "  Does 
the  house  intend  to  publish  this  declaration  ?"  "  We  can 
give  no  answer,"  was  the  reply.  "  Well,  then,"  said  the 
king,  "  I  suppose  you  do  not  expect  an  answer  to  so  long  a 
petition  now ;  I  shall  give  you  one  with  as  much  speed  as  the 
weightiness  of  the  business  will  permit. ":j:  The  leaders  of  the 
commons  were  altogether  indifferent  on  the  point;  without 
any  delay  whatever,  they  at  once  brought  forward  projects 
that  even  the  remonstrance  did  not  hint  at.  Hitherto  they 
had  redressed  grievances,  appealed  to  the  ancient  laws ;  now 

•  Rushworth,  i.,  3,  429;  May,  ut  sup  ;  Whitelocke,  50;  Evelyn's 
Mem.,  Appendix  ii.,  79. 
t  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  940.  J  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  94ii 

18 


146 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


they  proclaimed  new  principles,  imperiously  demanded  inno- 
vations.    A  bill  was  under  discussion  for  levying  troops  for 
Ireland ;  they  inserted  these  words  in  the  preamble,  "  That 
the  king  hath,  in  no  case,  or  upon  any  occasion  but  invasion 
from  a  foreign  power,  authority  to  press  tlie  free-born  sub- 
ject,  that  being  inconsistent  with  the  freedom  and  liberty  of 
his  person."*      Another  bill  was  proposed,  that  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  militia  and  the  nomination  of  its  officers,  should  for 
the  future  only  take  place  with  the  concurrence  and  consent 
of  parliament  (Dec.  7).t     By  the  influence  of  the  presby- 
terians,  the  bill  excluding  all  the  ecclesiastics  from  civil  offices 
(Oct.  23)t  had,  a  few  days  before  the  king's  return,  been 
again  brought  forward  and  adopted ;    but  the  lords  kept  it 
waiting;  the  commons  now  angrily  complained  of  this  :  "This 
house,"  said  they,  "  being  the  representative  body  of  the  whole 
kingdom,  and  their  lordships  being  but  as  particular  persons, 
and  coming  to  parliament  in  a  particular  capacity,  if  they 
shall  not  be  pleased  to  consent  to  the  passing  of  these  acts  and 
others  necessary  to  the  preservation  and  safety  of  the  kingdom, 
then  this  house,  together  with  such  of  the  lords  that  are  more 
sensible  of  the  safety  of  the  kingdom,  will  join  together,  and 
represent  the  same  unto  his  majesty."      And  the  popular 
noblemen,  the  earls  of  Northumberland,  Essex,  and  Warwick, 
permitted  this  language  to  pass  unnoticed. §     Out  of  doors,  the 
party    rallied    round   their   leaders    with    equal    ardor;    the 
remonstrance  was  published  (Sept.  14).||     The  city  declared 
that,  in  receiving  the  king  with  so  much  pomp,  the  citizens  of 
London  had  not  meant  to  convey  any  change  of  sentiment 
towards  their  true  friends,  and  that  they  would  live  and  die 
with  the  parliament.ir      A  petition  from  the  apprentices  set 
forth,  in  lamentable  array,  the  sufferings  of  commerce  and 
trades,  imputing  them  to  the  papists,  the  bishops,  and   bad 
councillors.**      In  the  counties,    associations   were   formed 
devoted  to  the  defence  of  the  people's  liberty  and  faith.     From 
all  quarters,  the  nation  hastened  to  the  aid  of  the  commons  ; 
sinister  reports  from  time  to  time  produced  new  proofs  of  their 
attachment ;  now  it  was  rumored  that  the  life  of  Pym  had 

•  Clarendon,  i.,  507  ;  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  969  ;    May,  utsup. 
t  May,  ut  sup.  ;  Clarendon,  i.,  513.  X  Pari.  Hist.,  "•,  916. 

4  Journals,  Commons,  Dec.  3.       ||  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  970.        ^  May. 
*•  Clarendon  ;  i.,  519  ;    Rushworth,  i.,  3,  462. 


147 


V 


been  threatened  ;  now,  that  the  Irish  rebels  were  preparing 
an  invasion ;  a  mysterious  visit,  a  word  picked  up  in  the 
street,  sufficed  as  groundwork  for  the  party  to  base  a  plot 
upon,  and  to  call  upon  their  adherents  for  fresh  oaths  of  union  • 
and  while  the  commons  each  day  demanded  the  restoration  of 
their  guard,  the  multitude  assembled  each  day  round  West- 
minster Hall  formed  one  for  them,  incessantly  sending  forth 
shouts  proclaiming  a  common  peril. 

Against   these    daring    pretensions,    maintained    by    such 
tumultuous  passions,  Charles,  on  his  side,  rallied  all  his  par- 
tisans,  the  interested  servants  of  absolute  power,  the  loyal 
defenders  of  the  king,  whatever  his  cause,  and  those  citizens 
who  had  until  of  late  opposed  tyranny,  but  who  were  brought 
back  to  the  foot  of  the  throne  by  the  fear  of  innovations  and 
excesses.     The  latter  formed,  almost  solely,  the  rising  royalist 
party  in  the  house  of  commons.     Lord  Falkland,  Mr.  Hyde, 
and  sir  John  Colepepper  were  its  leaders  ;  and  Charles  resolved 
to  attach  them  to  him.     Already,  before  his  journey  into  Scot- 
land, he  had  held  secret  interviews  with  Hyde  ;  and  by  the 
respectful  wisdom  of  his  advice,  by  his  aversion  to  all  inno- 
vations, above  all,  by  his  devotion  to  the  church,  Hyde  had 
gained  his  confidence.*     He  did  not  equally  like  lord  Falk- 
land, who  despised  the  court,  cared  little  for  the  king,  whom 
he  had  not  come  near,  and  opposed  the  innovators,  rather  for 
tlie  sake  of  offended  justice  than  for  that  of  menaced  power. 
Charles  feared  him,  and  did  not  feel  at  ease  in  his  presence. 
However,  it  was  necessary  to  conciliate  him.     Hyde,  his  most 
intimate  friend,  undertook  the  negotiation.     Falkland  at  first 
refused  :  his  scrupulous  virtue  severed  him  from  the  abettors 
of  revolution ;   but  his  principles,  his  wishes,  the  impulses  of 
his  somewhat  visionary  imagination,  constantly  impelled  him 
towards  the  friends  of  liberty.     He  alleged  his  antipathy  to 
the  court,  his  inability  to  serve  it,  and  his  resolution  of  never 
employing  either  falsehood,  or  corruption,  or  spies  ;  "  useful, 
perhaps  necessary  means,"  said  he,  "  but  with  which  I  will 
never  sully  my  hands."     Surprised  and  piqued  at  having  to 
solicit    a    subject,    Charles    nevertheless    persisted.       Hyde 
enlarged  upon  the  immense  injury  such  a  refusal  would  be  to 
the  king.     Falkland  suffered  himself  to  be  persuaded,  though 

*  Clarendon,  Memoirs,  i.,  passim. 


148 


HISTOEY    OF   THE 


disheartened  beforehand,  as  the  victim  of  a  devotion  prompted 
neither  by  affection  nor  hope.  He  was  named  secretary  of 
state.  Colepepper,  much  less  influential,  but  distinguished 
for  his  boldness,  and  the  resources  of  his  mind  in  debate, 
became  chancellor  of  the  exchequer.  Hyde  alone,  contrary 
to  the  king's  wish,  pertinaciously  refused  any  office,  not  from 
fear,  but  from  prudence,  and  from  the  opinion  that  he  should 
serve  him  better  in  maintaining  the  exterior  independence  of 
his  position.  The  three  friends  undertook  the  management 
of  the  king's  affairs  in  the  house,  and  Charles  promised  to 
attempt  nothing  there  without  their  counsel.* 

At  the  same  time,  other  servants,  less  useful,  but  more 
ardent,  hastened  from  all  parts  of  the  kingdom  to  defend  his 
nonor  and  his  life,  threatened,  as  they  said,  by  parliament. 
Notwithstanding  the  decay  of  the  feudal  system,  the  senti- 
ments to  which  it  had  given  rise  still   animated  many  of  the 
gentry.     Inactive  in  their  country  seats,  little  accustomed  to 
reflection  or  debate,   they  despised  those   prating,  cavilling 
citizens,  whose  gloomy  creed  proscribed  the  wine-drinking,  the 
sports,  the  pleasures  of  old  England,  and  who  assumed  to  rule 
the  king,  whom  their  fathers  had  not  even  had  the  honor  to 
serve.     Proud  in  the  recollection  of  their  own  independence, 
the  country  gentry  cared  little  about  the  new  wants  of  public 
liberty.     In  common  with  the  people,  they  had  murmured 
against  the  court  and  against  tyranny  ;  but  after  so  many 
concessions  from  the  throne,  their  want  of  foresight  and  their 
loyalty  made  them  indignant  at  the  insolent  pertinacity  of  the 
innovators.      They  came  to  London  in   arms,   paraded  the 
streets   haughtily,   showed  themselves    and    expressed    their 
opinions  loudly  in  the  taverns  and  public  places,  and  often 
went  to  Whitehall  to  offer  their  services  and  solicit  some  favor 
from  the  king.     There  they  were  joined  by  others,  drawn 
together  by  a^devotion  less  genuine,  but  still  more  blind,  the 
officers,  the  reformadoes,  whom  the  disbanding  of  the  army 
had  left  without  pay  or  employment ;  most  of  them  soldiers  of 
fortune,  bred  in  the  wars  of  the  continent,  dissolute,  venal, 
and  daring,  irritated  against  the  parliament,  who  had  deprived 
them  of  their  trade,  against  the  people,  who  detested  their 
manners,  and  ready  to  do  anything  for  any  master  who  would 

*  Clarendon,  i.,  528,  ii.,  297  ;  Warwick's  Mem.,  194. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


149 


employ  them,  no  matter  in  what  cause.  Young  lawyers,  stu- 
dents in  the  Temple,  proteges  of  the  court,  or  anxious  to  share 
its  pleasures,  or  thinking  they  proved  their  high  birth  and 
elegance  of  taste  by  embracing  its  cause,  swelled  the  restless 
and  presumptuous  throng  which  daily  assembled  round  White- 
hall, inveighing  against  the  commons,  insulting  all  who  took 
part  with  them,  prodigal  of  boastings  and  railleries,  and  eager 
for  the  king,  or  chance,  to  give  them  some  opportunity  of 
pushing  their  fortune  by  proving  their  loyalty.* 

The  popular  party  were  no  less  impatient  to  give  them 
this  opportunity ;  its  assemblages  became  every  day  more  nu- 
merous and  excited.  Bands  of  apprentices,  workmen,  women, 
went  every  morning  from  the  city  to  Westminster,  and  in 
passing  by  Whitenall,  the  shouts,  "No  bishops!  no  popish 
lords ! "  were  sent  forth  with  redoubled  energy.  At  times, 
they  would  halt,  and  one  of  them  getting  on  a  post,  would 
there  read  to  the  crowd  the  names  of  the  "  disaffected  mem- 
bers of  the  house  of  commons,"  or  those  of  "  the  false,  evil, 
rotten-hearted  lords."  Their  audacity  went  so  far  as  to  de- 
mand that  there  should  be  no  sentinel  at  the  gates  of  the 
palace,  so  that  they  might  see  the  king  at  any  hour,  when- 
ever they  pleased. f  Violent  contests  soon  arose ;  the  names 
of  cavaliers  and  roundheads  distinguished  the  two  parties; 
the  citizens  at  first  repelled  the  latter  appellation  as  an  insult, 
but  afterwards  adopted  it  as  an  honorable  title. J  The  cava- 
liers sought  their  enemies  around  Westminster  Hall,  at  once 
to  beard  them,  and  to  protect  the  menaced  royalists  as  they 
left  the  houses  of  parliament.  It  was  particularly  against  the 
upper  house  that  the  people's  anger  was  directed,  for  the  bill 
excluding  the  bishops  still  remained  in  suspense  there.  The 
archbishop  of  York,  Williams,  on  his  way  to  the  house  on 
foot,  tried  to  arrest  with  his  own  hands  a  young  man  who  fol- 
lowed him  with  insults ;  the  crowd  rushed  upon  the  prelate, 
and  his  friends  had  great  difficulty  in  getting  him  off.§  Both 
parties  by  turns  made  and  rescued  prisoners.  Blood  flowed, 
the  cavaliers  boasted  with  derision  of  having  dispersed  their 
adversaries,  but  the  latter  returned  the  next  day,  more  expe- 

*  Ludlow's  Memoirs  (1771),  10. 

t  Clarendon,  i.,  526  ;  May,  ut  sup.  ;  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  986. 
X  Clarendon,  i.,  528,  ii.,  296  ;  Rushworth,  i.,  3,  493. 
I  Clarendon,  Hist,  i.,  526,  ii.,  294;  Rushworth,  i.,  3,493. 

13* 


150 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


rienced  and  better  armed.  One  evening,  when  the  lords 
were  still  sitting,  the  tumult  without  became  so  violent,  that 
the  marquis  of  Hertford  went  over  to  the  bishops'  bench,  and 
advised  them  not  to  go  out ;  "  for,"  said  he,  "  those  people 
vow  they  will  watch  you  at  your  coming  out,  and  search 
every  coach  for  you  with  torches,  so  as  you  cannot  escape." 
"  Must  we  then  pass  the  night  here  ?  "  asked  the  bishops. 
*'  It  is  very  possible,"  replied,  with  a  smile,  some  of  the  sup- 
porters of  the  bill  of- exclusion.  They  did  depart,  however  ; 
some  in  the  carriage  of  one  of  the  popular  lords,  others  by 
back  passages ;  and  even  among  their  friends  many  began  to 
think  their  presence  was  not  worth  the  danger  it  occasion- 
ed.* Twice  did  the  upper  house  claim  the  assistance  of  the 
commons  in  the  suppression  of  these  outrages  (Dec.  20 — 30)  ; 
but  the  commons  remained  silent,  or  answered  by  complain- 
ing of  the  disorders  of  the  cavaliers.  "  We  must  not  discour- 
age our  friends,  this  being  a  time  we  must  make  use  of  all  of 
them,"  said  the  leaders.  ''  God  forbid  the  house  of  commons 
should  proceed  in  any  way  to  dishearten  the  people  to  obtain 
their  just  rights  in  such  a  way  !  "f  The  lords  applied  to  the 
magistrates,  calling  upon  them  to  proceed  against  the  rioters 
according  to  law ;  and  upon  an  order,  to  which  was  affixed 
the  great  seal,  the  justices  enjoined  the  constables  to  place  a 
guard  round  Westminster  Hall  to  disperse  the  mob.  The 
commons  had  the  constables  to  their  bar,  treated  the  order  as 
a  breach  of  privilege,  and  sent  one  of  the  justices  to  the 
Tower.ij:  At  the  same  time,  the  house  voted  that  as  the  king 
persisted  in  refusing  them  a  guard,  each  member  might  bring 
one  servant  with  him,  and  station  him  at  the  door  of  the  house, 
armed  as  he  might  think  fit. 

These  riots,  these  incessant  outcries,  this  constant,  unma- 
nageable disorder,  filled  the  king  with  anger  and  with  fear ; 
never,  amid  his  darkest  apprehensions,  had  such  scenes  en- 
tered  his  imagination ;  he  was  astonished  and  indignant  that 
royal  majesty  snould  have  to  endure  such  gross  insults ;  and 
it  was  no  longer  for  his  power  alone,  but  for  the  safety,  at  all 
events  for  the  dignity  of  his  person  and  life,  that  he  began 
to  be  alarmed.  The  queen,  still  more  agitated,  besieged  him 
with  her  terrors ;  and  the  pride  of  the  monarch  and  the  ten- 


*  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  991. 


t  lb.,  986. 


X  lb.,  987. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


151 


demess  of  the  husband  could  not  support  the  idea  of  peril  or 
insult  to  the  object  of  his  affections,  the  partner  of  his  rank. 
Looking  around  in  every  direction  for  some  support  against 
the  multitude,  some  means  of  preventing  or  punishing  their 
excesses,  he  resolved  to  get  rid  of  the  governor  of  the  Tower, 
sir  William  Balfour,  a  person  devoted  to  the  commons,  and 
to  put  a  sure  and  daring  man  in  his  place.  Three  thousand 
pounds,  the  produce  of  the  sale  of  some  of  the  queen's  jewels, 
were  given  to  sir  William  to  appease  his  anger.  Sir  Thomas 
Lunsford,  one  of  the  most  audacious  leaders  of  the  cavaliers 
assembled  at  Whitehall,  succeeded  him  (towards  Dec.  20).* 
At  the  same  time,  the  king  assumed  a  higher  tone  with  the 
parliament,  endeavoring  to  intimidate  it  in  his  turn.  Hyde 
had  prepared  a  firm  and  able  answer  to  the  remonstrance ; 
Charles  adopted  it,  and  had  it  published  in  his  own  name.f 
The  bill  for  the  impressment  of  soldiers  was  still  under  dis- 
cussion in  parliament ;  before  it  was  presented  to  him,  Charles 
went  to  the  house,  and  declared  that  he  would  not  accept  it 
until  the  passage  in  the  preamble,  depriving  him  of  the  power 
of  ordering  impressment,  was  struck  out  (Dec.  14). J  Irish 
affairs  made  no  progress;  he  called  upon  the  commons  to 
take  them  decidedly  in  hand,  and  offered  to  raise  ten  thousand 
volunteers,  if  the  house  would  promise  to  pay  them  (Dec. 
29). §  On  their  part,  and  perhaps  with  his  consent,  the 
bishops  assembled  to  deliberate  on  their  situation ;  violence 
awaited  them  at  the  doors  of  the  upper  house  ;  they  resolved 
to  absent  themselves,  to  set  forth  in  a  protest  the  motives  of 
their  withdrawal,  declaring  null  and  void  every  bill  that  should 
be  adopted  without  the  concurrence  of  all  the  legitimate  and 
necessary  members  of  parliament.  Suddenly  drawn  up  and 
signed  by  twelve  bishops,  ||  the  protest  was  at  once  presented 
to  the  king,  who  eagerly  received  it :  it  presented  to  him  the 
hope  of  one  day,  under  this  pretext,  annulling  the  acts  of  that 
fatal  parliament  which  he  could  not  quell ;  on  the  instant, 
without  mentioning  the  matter  to  his  new  councillors,  whose 

*  Clarendon,  i.,  517;  ii.,  284. 

t  Clarendon's  Memoirs,  i.,  124;  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  970. 

X  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  988.  §  lb.,  ii.,  991. 

II  The  archbishop  of  York,  and  the  bishops  of  Durham,  Litchfield, 
St.  Asaph,  Oxford,  Bath  and  Wells,  Hereford,  Ely,  Gloucester,  Peter- 
borough, LlandafT,  and  Norwich. 


152 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


advice  he  feared  much  more  than  he  estimated  their  influ- 
ence, he  ordered  the  lord  high  keeper  to  carry  it  that  same 
day  to  the  upper  house,  applauding  himself  for  his  address 
(Dec.  30).* 

The  astonishment  of  the  lords  was  extreme  ;  they  could  not 
conceive  how  twelve  bishops,  whose  parliamentary  existence 
was  at  that  moment  in  question,  should  thus  pretend  to  order 
the  fate  of  parliament  itself,  to  annihilate  it  by  their  absence. 
Communicated  without  delay  to  the  commons,  the  protest  was 
received  there  with  that  apparent  anger  and  secret  joy  which 
the  faults  of  an  enemy  inspire.  The  impeachment  of  the 
bishops  for  conspiring  against  the  fundamental  laws  of  the 
kingdom  and  the  existence  of  parliament^  was  at  once  moved 
and  carried.  Irritated  by  their  imprudence,  perhaps  glad  to 
avail  themselves  of  a  pretext  for  forsaking  without  shame  a 
ruined  cause,  their  friends  remained  silent ;  only  one  voice 
rose  in  their  favor,  saying,  they  were  stark  mad,  and  should 
be  sent  to  Bedlam,  and  not  before  the  judges.^  The  upper 
house  sanctioned  the  impeachment,  and  sent  the  prelates  to 
the  Tower.  Eager  to  make  the  most  of  so  favorable  an  op- 
portunity, the  leaders  of  the  commons  pressed  on  all  their 
attacks.  They  had  already  complained  of  the  king's  decla- 
ration on  the  subject  of  the  Impressment  Bill,  as  destructive 
of  their  privileges,  which  did  not  permit  that  he  should  take 
notice  of  any  measure  while  under  discussion ;  they  now 
insisted  on  the  necessity  of  firmly  securing  these  privileges, 
their  only  anchor  of  safety  amidst  so  many  perils.  They 
protested  against  handing  over  the  Tower  to  sir  Thomas 
Lunsford,  a  man  in  almost  universal  disrepute,  without  for- 
tune, religion,  or  morals,  known  only  by  his  acts  of  violence 
against  the  people,  and  capable  of  the  most  desperate  excess- 
es. Already,  said  they,  the  alarm  was  so  great  in  the  city 
that  merchants  and  foreigners  no  longer  deposited  their  bul- 
lion in  the  Tower.  They  demanded  the  nomination  of 
another  governor.  Lord  Digby,  now  become  the  king's  most 
intimate  confidant,  was  denounced  for  having  said  that  parlia- 
ment was  not  free.§     Finally,  reports  were  even  spread  that 

♦  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  993 ;  Clarendon,  i.,  546. 

t  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  994;  Whitelocke,  53.  J  Clarendon,  i.,  552. 

§  Pari.  History,  ii.,  969. 


ENGLISH   REVOLTJTION. 


153 


the  queen  herself  might  ere  long  be  impeached  for  high 
treason. 

The  king  seemed  to  give  way ;  he  took  no  step  in  favor 
of  the  bishops,  withdrew  the  government  of  the  Tower  from 
Lunsford,  and  gave  it  to  Sir  John  Byron,  a  grave  and  steady 
man,  generally  esteemed,*  spoke  no  more  about  the  riots,  did 
not  complain  of  the  last  debates.  Yet  secret  reports  and 
vague  whispers  disturbed  the  commons.  The  queen,  silent 
and  reserved,  seemed  animated  with  some  hope  ;  lord  Digby, 
whose  presumptuous  temerity  was  well  known,  visited  her 
frequently,  and  seemed  every  day  more  and  more  intimate 
with  her  and  with  the  king.  The  concourse  of  cavaliers  at 
Whitehall  doubled.  Without  explaining  their  fears  the  com- 
mons sent  a  message,  applying  once  more  for  a  guard  (Dec. 
31).  The  king  made  no  answer  to  the  application,  which,  he 
said,  must  be  communicated  to  him  in  a  written  petition. 
Thereupon,  the  commons  ordered  arms  to  be  brought  into  the 
house,  as  if  assured  of  some  immediate  danger.  Three  days 
after,  the  king's  answer  came  ;  it  was  a  refusal,  concluding 
with  these  words.  "  We  do  engage  unto  you  solemnly,  on 
the  word  of  a  king,  that  the  security  of  all  and  every  one  of 
you  from  violence,  is  and  shall  ever  be  as  much  our  care  as 
the  preservation  of  us  and  our  children."  But  the  house, 
more  alarmed  than  ever,  ordered  the  lord  mayor,  the  sheriflTs, 
and  common  council,  to  keep  the  London  militia  on  foot,  and 
to  place  strong  guards  at  various  points  of  the  city. j" 

On  that  very  day  (Jan.  3,  1642),  sir  Edward  Herbert,  the 
attorney-general,  went  to  the  house  of  peers,  and,  in  the  king's 
name,  accused  of  high  treason  lord  Kimbolton  and  five  mem- 
bers of  the  commons,  Hampden,  Pym,  Holies,  Strode,  and 
Haslerig,  for  having  attempted,  1st,  to  subvert  the  funda- 
mental laws  of  the  kingdom,  and  to  deprive  the  king  of  his 
lawful  authority ;  2dly,  to  alienate  the  people  from  the  king 
by  odious  calumnies ;  3dly,  to  raise  the  army  against  the 
king  ;  4thly,  to  engage  a  foreign  power,  Scotland,  to  invade 
the  kingdom  ;  5thly,  to  annihilate  the  rights  and  the  very  ex- 
istence of  parliaments  ;  6thly,  to  excite  against  the  king  and 
the  parliament  seditious  assemblages,  for  the  purpose  of  secur- 
ing, by  violence,  success  to  their  criminal  designs  ;  Tthly,  to 

♦  Clarendon,  i.,  518. 

t  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  1002;  Rushworth,  i.,  3,  471 ;  Journals,  Commons. 


p 


Wi: 


i 


154 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


levy  war  upon  the  king.  Sir  Edward  required,  at  the  same 
time,  that  a  committee  should  be  appointed  to  examine  the 
charges,  and  that  the  house  would  be  pleased  to  secure  the 
persons  of  the  accused.* 

The  lords  were  thunderstruck ;  no  one  had  foreseen  such 
a  proceeding,  and  no  one  dared  to  speak  first.  Lord  Kim- 
bolton  rose  :  "I  am  ready,"  said  he,  "  to  obey  any  order  of 
the  house  ;  but  since  my  impeachment  is  public,  I  demand 
that  my  justification  may  be  so  too."  And  he  resumed  his 
place  amid  continued  silence.  Lord  Digby  was  sitting  next 
him.  He  whispered  in  his  ear,  "  What  mischievous  counsels 
are  given  to  the  king  !  It  shall  go  hard  but  I  find  out  whence 
they  come."  And  he  forthwith  quitted  the  house,  as  if  to 
seek  the  information  of  which  he  spoke.  Yet  it  was  he  and 
no  other,  it  is  said,  who  had  urged  the  king  to  this  enterprise, 
undertaking,  moreover,  that  he  himself  would  demand  the 
immediate  arrest  of  lord  Kimbolton,  as  soon  as  the  attorney- 
general  should  have  accused  him.-f 

On  the  instant,  a  message  from  the  lords  informed  the  com- 
mons of  what  had  passed  ;  they  had  just  heard  that  the  king's 
people  had  gone  to  the  houses  of  the  five  members,  and  were 
putting  their  seals  on  everything  in  them.  The  house  forth- 
with voted  these  proceedings  a  breach  of  privilege,  which  the 
accused  were  entitled,  and  the  constables  were  called  upon 
in  duty,*to  resist,  and  that  the  king's  oflicers  should  be  arrested 
and  brought  to  the  bar  as  delinquents.  Sir  John  Hotham  was 
sent  to  the  lords  to  request  an  immediate  conference,  and  with 
orders  to  declare  that  if  the  house  of  peers  refused  to  combine 
with  the  commons  in  demanding  a  guard  from  the  king,  the 
commons  would  retire  to  a  safer  place.  While  they  were 
waiting  the  lords'  answer,  a  sergeant-at-arms  presented  him- 
self. "  In  the  name  of  the  king  my  master,"  said  he,  '*  I  am 
come  to  require  Mr.  Speaker  to  place  in  my  custody  five 
gentlemen,  members  of  this  house,  whom  his  majesty  has 
commanded  me  to  arrest  for  high  treason  ;"  and  he  proceeded 
to  name  them.  The  accused  were  present,  but  not  one  quitted 
his  place ;  the  speaker  ordered  the  sergeant  to  retire.  Without 
tumult  as  without  opposition,  the  house  appointed  a  committee 
to  go,  the  house  still  sitting,  to  inform  the  king  that  so  im- 


Rush worth,  i.,  3,  473. 


t  lb.,  474 ;  Clarendon,  i.,  559. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


155 


portant  a  message  could  only  be  answered  after  mature  con- 
sideration. Two  ministers  of  the  crown,  lord  Falkland  and  sir 
John  Colepepper,  formed  part  of  the  committee  :  they  had  been 
quite  ignorant  of  the  plan.  The  conference  with  the  lords  was 
opened,  and  in  less  than  an  hour  it  was  jointly  resolved  to 
order  the  removal  of  the  seals  placed  on  the  papers  of  the  five 
members,  and  that  a  guard  should  be  demanded.  The  petition 
for  a  guard  was  forthwith  conveyed  to  the  king  by  the  duke 
of  Richmond,  one  of  his  most  honest  favorites.  "  I  will  give 
an  answer  to-morrow,"  said  the  king,  in  his  turn  ;  and  the 
commons  adjourned  to  the  next  day  at  one  o'clock,  ordering 
the  accused  to  be  in  attendance  at  Westminster  as  usual.* 

When  the   house  reassembled  (Jan.    4)  at    the  appointed 
hour,  their  uneasiness  and  anger  were  redoubled ;  the  pre- 
sentiment of  some  fresh  danger,  unknown  but  certain,  agitated 
every  mind.     The  royalists  sat  sorrowful  and  silent ;  among 
their  adversaries  a  thousand  reports  were  in  active  circula- 
tion, collected  the  evening  before,  during  the  night,  that  very 
morning :  the  cavaliers,  it  was  said,  had  assembled,  the  king 
had  sent  them  word  to  be  ready,  two  barrels  of  gunpowder 
and  arms  had  been  brought  from  the  Tower  to  Whitehall,f 
every  one  crowded  round  the  five  members,  with  conjectures, 
information,   advice.     They  themselves  knew  more  of  the 
matter  than  their  informants  :  the  minister  of  France,  long 
since  in  secret  correspondence  with  them,  and  the  countess  of 
Carlisle,  Pym's  mistress,  it  is  said,  had  given  them  notice  of 
the  coup  d'etat  in  preparation  ;{  but  they  mentioned  ngt  a 
word  of  this.     Suddenly  entered  the  house  an  officer,  captain 
Langrish,  lately  returned  from  service  in  France,  and  whose 
connexion  with  some  of  the  cashiered  officers  gave  him  oppor- 
tunities  of  knowing  all  that  was  going  on.     He  announced 
that  the  king  was  at  hand,  that  he  had  seen  him  set  out  from 
Whitehall,  escorted  by  three  or  four  hundred  men,  guards, 
cavaliers,  students,  all  armed,  to  arrest  the  accused  in  person. 
A  great  tumult  arose,  but  the  necessity  of  a  prompt  decision 
soon   appeased  it.     The  house   urged  the    five    members  to 
withdraw,   as   several  gentlemen   had   already  drawn   their 

•  Rushworth,  i.,  3,  474  ;  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  1007. 
t  Rushworth,  i.,  3,  47G. 

X  lb.,  477  ;  Whitelocke,  53  ;  Warwick's  Mem.,  203;  Mazure,  Hist, 
de  la  Revolution,  ni.,  429  ;  Mad.  de  Motteviile's  Mem.  (1750),  i.,  266. 


156 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


157 


swords  for  resistance.     Pym,  Hampden,  Holies,  and  Hasleng, 
at  once  departed  ;  Strode  refused  ;  he  was  entreated,  pressed  ; 
the  king  had  already  entered  Palace  Yard  ;  at  last  his  friend, 
sir  Walter  Earl,  roughly  pushed  him  out.     The  other  mem- 
bers all  took  their  seats.     The  king  had  traversed  Westmm- 
ster  Hall  between  a  double  rank  of  his  attendants  ;  but  only 
his  body-guard  ascended  with  him  the  stairs  leading  to  the 
house  ;  on  reaching  the  door,  he  forbade  them,  under  penalty 
of  death,  to  follow  him  a  step  further,  and  entered  the  house 
uncovered,  accompanied  only  by  his  nephew,  the  count  pala- 
tine.    All  the  members  uncovered  and  rose.     The  king,  as 
he  passed,  cast  a  glance  at  the  place  where  Pym  usually  sat ; 
not  seeing  him  there,  he  advanced  towards  the  speaker.    "  By 
your  favor,  Mr.  Speaker,"  said  he,  *'  I  will  borrow  your  chair 
for  a  moment."     Then  seating  himself,  he  cast  his  eyes  round 
on  the   assembly  :  "  Gentlemen,"   said  he,  "  I  am  sorry  for 
this  occasion  of  coming  unto  you.     Yesterday,  I  sent  a  ser- 
jeant-at-arms upon  a  very  important  occasion,  to  apprehend 
some  that  by  my  command  were  accused  of  high  treason, 
whereunto  I  did  expect  obedience,  and  not  a  message  ;  and  I 
must  declare  unto  you  here,  that  albeit  no  king  that  ever  was 
in  England  shall  be  more  careful  of  your  privileges,  to  main- 
tain them  to  the  uttermost  of  his  power,  than  I  shall  be,  yet 
you  must  know  that  in  cases  of  treason  no  person  hath  a 
privilege  ;  and  therefore  I  am  come  to  know  if  any  of  these 
persons  that  were  accused  are  here,  for  I  must  tell  you,  gen- 
tlemen, that  so  long  as  these  persons  that  I  have  accused,  for 
no  slight  crime,  but  for  treason,  are  here,  I  cannot  expect  that 
this  house  will  be  in  the  right  way  that  I  do  heartily  wish  it ; 
therefore  I  am  come  to  tell  you  that  I  must  have  them  where- 
soever I  find  them.     Mr.  Speaker,  where  are  they  ?"     The 
speaker,  falling  on  his  knees,  replied,  ''  May  it  please  your 
majesty,  I  have  neither  eyes  to  see  nor  tongue  to  speak,  in 
this  place,  but  as  the  house  is  pleased  to  direct  me,  whose 
servant  I  am  here.     And  humbly  beg  your  majesty's  pardon, 
that  I  cannot  give  any  other  answer  than  this  to  what  your 
majesty  is  pleased  to  demand  of  me."     "  Well,"  replied  the 
king,  "  since  I  see  all  the  birds  are  flown,  I  do  expect  from 
you  that  you  shall  send  them  unto  me  as  soon  as  they  return 
hither.     But  I  assure  you,  on  the  word  of  a  king,  I  never  did 
intend  any  force,  but  shall  proceed  against  them  in  a  legal  and 


fair  way  ;  for  I  never  meant  any  other  :  and  now,  since  I  see 
I  cannot  do  what  1  came  for,  I  will  trouble  you  no  more,  but 
tell  you,  I  do  expect,  as  soon  as  they  come  to  the  house,  you 
will  send  them  to  me,  otherwise  I  must  take  my  own  course 
to  find  them."  He  then  quitted  the  chair,  his  hat  still  in  his 
hand.  The  house  remained  motionless ;  but  from  several 
parts  of  the  house  as  the  king  withdrew,  arose  the  cry, 
"Privilege!  Privilege!"* 

As  soon  as  he  was  gone,  the  house,  without  doing,  or  even 
announcing  anything,  adjourned  to  the  next  day ;  all  the 
members  went  away,  eager  to  learn  to  what  extent  the  king's 
designs  had  gone,  and  what  the  public  thought  of  them. 
They  found  outside,  on  the  stairs,  in  the  great  hall,  at  the 
doors,  among  their  own  servants  who  were  waiting  for  them, 
and  in  the  assembled  multitude,  an  emotion  no  less  vivid  than 
their  own.  "  Nothing,"  says  an  affidavit  of  the  day,  "  was 
talked  of  but  the  insults  of  the  cavaliers.  One  of  them,  a 
captain  Hyde,  drew  a  pistol  from  his  pocket,  and  said,  jeer- 
ingly,  it  was  not  charged,  but  upon  trial  it  was  found  to  be 
charged  very  deep,  and  he  said  he  had  five  supplies  for  the 
same ;  and  he  cursed  and  swore  at  the  parliament  for  prick- 
eared,  cropt-eared  rascals,  and  said  he'd  kill  as  many  of  'em 
as  he  could. "t  The  five  members  had  retired  into  the  city  ; 
the  citizens  took  to  arms  ;  the  lord  mayor  attempted  in  vain 
to  calm  them  ;  strong  patrols  were  spontaneously  formed  for 
the  common  safety  ;  and  during  the  whole  of  the  evening, 
bands  of  apprentices  paraded  the  streets,  crying  out  from  door 
to  door  that  the  cavaliers  were  coming  to  set  the  city  on  fire  ; 
some  even  added  tha+  the  king  was  commanding  them  in 

person. 

The  agitation  was  equally  great  at  Whitehall.  The  king 
and  queen  had  built  the  highest  hopes  on  this  coup  d'etat ;  it 
had  for  a  long  time  past  occupied  all  their  thoughts,  had  been 
the  constant  subject  of  their  private  conversation,  of  their  con- 
ferences with  their  most  intimate  confidants.  In  the  morning, 
Charles,  kissing  his  wife  before  he  went  away,  promised  her 
that  in  an  hour  he  would  return,  master,  at  length,  of  his 
kingdom,  and  the  queen,  watch  in  hand,  had  counted  the 

♦  Rushworth.i.,  3,  477 ;  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  1010;  Journals,  Commons; 
Whitelocke,  52. 

t  Rushworth,  i.,  3,  482  ;  Ludlow's  Mem.,  17. 

14 


158 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


minutes  till  his  return.*  Now,  all  had  failed;  and  though 
the  king  still  persisted  in  his  design,  it  was  without  hoping 
anything  from  it,  without  knowing  how  to  accomplish  it.  0£ 
fended,  and  full  of  affliction,  his  wisest  friends,  Falkland, 
Hyde,  Colepepper,  kept  aloof,  and  proffered  no  counsel.  A 
proclamation  was  issued  ordering  the  gates  to  be  closed,  and 
that  no  citizen  should  give  refuge  to  the  accused  ;  but  no  one, 
even  at  court,  deceived  himself  as  to  the  inefficacy  of  these 
orders ;  the  very  house  in  which  were  the  five  members  was 
perfectly  well  known  ;f  it  was  not  thought  any  one  would 
make  his  way  thither  after  them.  Lord  Digby  alone  was  de- 
sirous to  expiate  by  his  temerity  the  imprudence  of  his  advice, 
and  his  backwardness  in  the  house  of  peers  at  the  moment  of 
the  impeachment.  He  offered  the  king  to  go  in  person,  with 
Lunsford  and  a  few  cavaliers,  to  take  the  members  from  their 
retreat,  and  bring  them  to  him  dead  or  alive.  But  Charles, 
either  from  some  remains  of  respect  for  the  laws,  or  from  the 
timidity  which  alternated  in  his  mind  with  reckless  daring, 
refused  this  proposal,  and  resolved  to  go  himself  the  next  day 
into  the  city,  and  solemnly  call  upon  the  common  council  to 
deliver  up  the  accused,  hoping  that  by  his  presence  and  gra- 
cious words  he  should  soften  those  whose  anger  he  had  so  little 
foreseen. 

Accordingly,  at  about  ten  o'clock,  on  the  5th  Jan.,  he  lefl 
Whitehall  without  any  guards,  and  manifesting  an  entire  con- 
fidence in  the  affection  of  his  subjects.  The  multitude  crowded 
on  his  way,  but  cold  and  silent,  or  only  lifting  up  their  voices 
to  conjure  him  to  live  in  concord  with  his  parliament.^  In 
some  places,  threatening  cries  were  heard ;  the  words,  "  Pri- 
vilege of  parliament !  privilege  of  parliament !"  echoed  round 
him,  and  a  man,  named  Walker,  threw  into  his  carriage  a 
pamphlet,  entitled  To  your  tents,  O  Israel  f  the  watchword  of 
revolt  of  the  ten  tribes  of  Jerusalem,  when  they  separated 
from  Rehoboam.&  On  arriving  at  Guildhall,  Charles  claimed 
the  surrender  of  the  five  members,  affable  and  mild  in  his 
speech,  protesting  his  devotion  to  the  reformed  religion,  the 
sincerity  of  his  concessions,  and  promising  to  act  in  all  things 
according  to  the  laws.  No  plaudits  answered  him  ;  like  the 
people,  the  common  council  were  grave  and  sorrowful.     The 


*  Madame  de  Motteville's  Mem.,  i.,  265. 
i  Whitelocke,  p.  53. 


t  In  Coleman-street. 
§  Rushworth,  i.,  3,479. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


159 


king,  addressing  one  of  the  sheriffs,  said  to  be  an  ardent  pres- 
byterian,  told  him  he  would  dine  with  him.  The  sheriff 
bowed,  and  when  the  hall  rose,  received  him  in  his  house 
with  splendor  and  respect.  On  his  return  to  Whitehall, 
Charles  only  obtained  from  the  crowd  the  same  reception  as 
before,  and  re-entered  his  palace,  angry  and  depressed.* 

The  commons  had  meantime  assembled  (Jan.  5)  ;  had  voted 
that  afler  so  enormous  a  breach  of  their  privileges,  until  repa- 
ration had  been  made,  and  a  trusty  guard  protected  them  from 
similar  perils,  they  could  not  sit  with  any  sense  of  freedom, 
and  had  accordingly  adjourned  for  six  days.  But,  though 
they  adjourned,  they  did  not  cease  to  act.  A  committee, 
vested  with  great  powers,^  was  ordered  to  establish  itself  in 
the  city,  to  make  an  inquiry  into  the  late  outrage,  and  to  ex- 
amine into  the  general  state  of  the  kingdom,  especially  of 
Ireland,  in  concert  with  the  citizens,  the  faithful  friends  of 
parliament.  The  committee  was  installed  at  Guildhall  with 
great  pomp  (Jan.  6)  ;  a  strong  guard  was  in  attendance,  and 
a  deputation  from  the  common  council  went  to  meet  it,  and 
place  at  its  disposal  all  the  force,  all  the'  services  of  the  city.ij: 
Its  sittings  were  as  full  of  bustle  as  those  of  the  house,  every 
member  of  which  had  a  right  to  be  present ;  the  place  whither 
the  five  members  had  retired  was  close  by,  and  nothing  was 
done  without  their  knowledge  and  advice.§  They  even  went 
several  times  in  person  to  the  committee,  and  the  citizens 
loudly  cheered  them  as  they  passed,  proud  to  have  them 
among  them,  to  be  the  protectors  of  their  representatives.  In 
the  midst  of  this  triumph  of  the  commons,  their  leaders  skil- 
fully managed  to  augment  their  zeal,  by  keeping  up  their 
fea^s.  Every  hour,  the  commons  and  the  city  contracted  a 
closer  alliance  and  mutually  emboldened  each  other.  ||  At 
last,  of  its  own  sole  authority,  it  is  said,  and  as  if  it  had  been 
the  house  itself,  the  committee  published  a  declaration  con- 
taining the  result  of  its  inquiry  ;ir  and  the  common  council 
addressed  a  petition  to  the  king,  complaining  of  bad  councillors, 
of  the  cavaliers,  of  the  papists,  of  the  new  governor  of  the 

*  Clarendon,  i.,  561 ;  Rushworth,  i.,  3,  479. 

t  It  was  composed  of  twenty-five  members ;  two  of  the  king's  min- 
isters, Falkland  and  Colepepper,  were  upon  it;  Rushworth,  ut  sup.  479. 
t  Clarendon,  i.,  563.  ^  lb.  ;  Whitelocke,  54. 

II  Rushworth,  i.,  3, 483.  IT  Clarendon,  i.,  567,  &c. 


160 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


Tower,  adopting  in  a  high  tone  the  cause  of  the  five  members, 
and  demanding  all  the  reforms  which  the  commons  had  merely 
touched  upon.*     (Jan.  7,  1642.) 

The  king  was  alone,  shut  up  in  Whitehall,  disclaimed  by 
his  more  honest  partisans.  Even  the  cavaliers,  now  intimi- 
dated, had  dispersed,  or  kept  silence.  The  king  attempted  an 
answer  to  the  petition  of  the  common  council,  and  once  more 
ordered  the  arrest  of  the  accused.f  (Jan.  8.)  But  his  an- 
swers were  without  influence,  his  orders  without  effect.  He 
learned  that,  in  two  days,  the  house  would  resume  its  sittings, 
and  that  the  five  members  were  to  be  brought  back  to  West- 
minster in  triumph,  by  the  militia,  the  people,  and  even  the 
watermen  of  the  Thames,  of  whose  entire  affection  he  had 
till  then  thought  himself  certain.  "  What,"  said  he,  angrily, 
"  do  these  water-rats,  too,  forsake  me !"  and  this  speech, 
soon  repeated  among  the  men,  was  received  by  them  as  an 
insult  calling  for  revenge.ij:  Abandoned,  humiliated,  deserted, 
irritated  at  the  general  cry  which  daily  assailed  him  without 
one  voice  on  his  side  to  oppose  it,  Charles  could  not  endure 
the  idea  of  seeing  his  enemies  pass  triumphant  before  his 
palace.  The  queen,  alternately  furious  with  anger  and 
trembling  with  fear,  conjured  him  to  depart ;  the  royalists  and 
messengers,  who  had  been  sent  to  different  parts  of  the  king- 
dom, promised  him  strength  and  safety  elsewhere  ;  the  cava- 
liers, defeated  in  London,  boasted  of  their  influence  in  their 
counties ;  away  from  the  parliament,  said  they,  the  king 
would  be  free  ;  without  the  king,  what  could  the  parliament 
do  ?  The  resolution  was  taken.  It  was  agreed  to  retire  first 
to  Hampton  Court,  and  afterwards  further  if  it  should  be 
found  necessary  ;  secret  orders  were  sent  to  the  governors  of 
several  places,  whose  devotion  seemed  sure  ;  the  earl  of  New- 
castle set  out  for  the  north,  where  his  influence  prevailed,  and 
on  the  loth  of  January,  the  evening  before  the  return  of  the 
commons,  Charles,  accompanied  only  by  his  wife,  his  children, 
and  some  attendants,  quitted  London  and  the  palace  of  White- 
hall, which  he  was  destined  never  to  re-enter,  but  on  his  way 
to  the  scaffold. § 

♦  Rushworth,  i.,  3,  480.  t  lb. 

t  Lilly,  Observ.  on  the  Life  and  Death  of  king  Charles ;  Maz^res, 
Tracts  (1815). 

§  Clarendon,  i.,  590;  Rushworth,  i.,  3,  564;  Journals,  Commons 
Jan.  11,  1642,  et  seq. ;  Whitelocke,  54. 


ENGLISH   KE VOLUTION. 


161 


The  day  after  his  departure,  at  about  two  in  the  afternoon, 
the  Thames  was  covered  with  armed  vessels,  escorting  the 
five  members  back  to  Westminster ;  a  multitude  of  boats  fol- 
lowed, adorned  with  flags,  and  filled  with  citizens ;  along  each 
bank  of  the  river  marched  the  London  militia,  bearing  the  last 
declarations  of  parliament  at  the  end  of  their  pikes  ;*  an  offi- 
cer formed  in  the  army  of  Gustavus  Adolphus,  captain  Skip- 
pon,  had  the  day  before  been  appointed  to  command  them. 
He  was  a  rough,  illiterate  man,  but  daring,  of  austere  morals, 
and  very  popular  in  the  city.  An  innumerable  crowd  closely 
followed  this  procession;  as  they  passed  Whitehall  they 
stopped,  shouting,  "  Where  now  are  the  king  and  his  cavaliers  ? 
what  has  become  of  them  ?  "f  ^^  ^^^^^  arrival  at  Westmin- 
ster Hall,  the  five  members  hastened  to  eulogize  the  devotion 
of  the  city  in  the  public  cause,  and  the  sheriffs,  introduced 
into  the  house,  received  the  thanks  of  the  speaker.  As  they 
departed,  another  procession  filed  up  ;  four  thousand  knights, 
gentlemen,  freeholders,  &c.,  arrived  on  horseback  from  Buck- 
inghamshire, Hampden's  native  county,  with  a  petition  to  the 
house  against  papist  lords,  bad  councillors,  and  in  favor  of 
their  worthy  representative ;  they  had  also  a  petition  for  the 
upper  house,  and  a  third  for  the  king,  and  all  carried  on  their 
hats  a  printed  oath  to  live  and  die  with  the  parliament,  who- 
ever might  be  its  enemies.:}:  On  all  sides  burst  forth  that 
proud  and  joyful  enthusiasm  which  permits,  which  calls  for, 
on  the  part  of  the  leaders  of  the  people,  the  boldest  resolutions  : 
the  commons  gave  way  to  it  with  judicious  energy,  as  the 
pilot  to  the  violent  but  propitious  wind.  In  a  few  hours  they 
had  voted  that  no  member,  under  any  pretext,  could  be  ar- 
rested without  their  consent ;  a  bill  was  adopted  giving  to  both 
houses  the  right  of  adjourning,  in  case  of  need,  to  any  place 
they  might  think  fit ;  an  address  was  drawn  up  to  the  king, 
that  it  would  please  him  to  withdraw  from  sir  John  Byron  the 
government  of  the  Tower ;  and  until  his  answer  should  be 
received,  Skippon  was  ordered  to  place  guards  around  that 
fortress,  and  narrowly  to  watch  its  approaches.  Letters  were 
despatched  to  Goring,  governor  of  Portsmouth,  forbidding  him 


*  May,  ii.,  41  ;  Rushworth,  i.,  3,  484 

t  Clarendon,  i.,  591. 

X  lb.,  ut  sup.  ;  Rushworth,  i.,  3,  48G. 

14* 


162 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


to  receive  into  that  town  either  troops  or  ammunition  without 
the  authority  of  parliament ;  sir  John  Hotham,  a  rich  and  in- 
fluential gentleman  of  Yorkshire,  was  ordered  to  proceed  im- 
mediately, and  take  the  command  of  Hull,  an  important  place, 
the  key  to  the  North  of  England,  and  which  contained  large 
arsenals.  On  the  third  day  (Jan.  13),  the  house  voted  that 
the  menaced  kingdom  should  without  delay  be  put  in  a  state 
of  defence  ;  the  lords  refused  to  sanction  this  declaration  ;  but 
this  was  of  little  consequence  :  the  commons  had  effected  their 
object,  by  passing  the  resolution,  and  conveying  their  wishes 
to  the  people.* 

The  commons  were  not  mistaken  in  anticipating  war ;  the 
king's  only  thought  now  was  to  prepare  for  it.  In  London, 
he  was  powerless  and  humiliated  ;  but  no  sooner  had  he  left  it 
than  he  was  surrounded  only  by  his  partisans,  and  no  longer 
receiving  every  day,  every  hour,  proofs  of  his  weakness,  he 
freely  gave  himself  up  to  the  hope  of  conquering  with  an  armed 
force  the  enemy  from  whom  he  had  just  fled  without  a  struggle. 
The  cavaliers,  too,  had  reassumed  all  their  presumption ;  al- 
ready they  seemed  to  look  upon  the  war  as  declared,  and  were 
eager  to  strike  the  first  blow.  The  day  after  the  king's  de- 
parture, the  house  learned  that  two  hundred  of  them,  com- 
manded by  Lunsford,  had  marched  towards  Kingston,  twelve 
miles  from  London,  where  the  military  stores  of  the  county 
of  Surrey  were  deposited,  as  if  to  take  possession  of  it  and  to 
establish  themselves  there ;  it  was  also  known  that  lord  Digby 
had  gone  to  meet  them  on  the  part  of  the  king,  to  thank  them 
for  their  zeal,  and  to  concert  some  hostile  plan  with  them. 
The  parliament  at  once  took  its  measures,  and  these  attempts 
were  defeated :  lord  Digby,  energetically  denounced,  fled  be- 
yond sea.f  Thinking  himself  still  too  near  London,  the  king 
left  Hampton  Court  for  Windsor  (Jan.  12,  1642) ;  Lunsford 
and  his  cavaliers  followed  him.  Here,  in  a  secret  council,  it 
was  resolved  that  the  queen,  taking  the  crown  jewels  with 
her,  should  proceed  to  Holland,  purchase  ammunition  and 
arms,  and  solicit  the  aid  of  the  continental  monarchs ;  the  pre- 
text to  be  given  for  this  journey  was  the  necessity  of  taking 
over  to  the  prince  of  Orange  the  princess  Mary,  yet  a  mere 


•  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  1028  ;  Rushworth,  i.,  3,  469. 


t  Rush  worth,  ut  sup.;  Nelson,  ii.,  845; 
Whitelocke,  54. 


Pari.    Hist,  ii.,  1036; 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


163 


' 


girl,  whom  he  had  married  six  months  before.*  On  his  part, 
the  king,  still  keeping  up  his  negotiations  with  parliament, 
was  to  retire  by  degrees  to  the  northern  counties,  where  his 
partisans  were  most  numerous,  to  fix  his  residence  at  York, 
and  awfit  there  the  opportunity  and  the  means  of  acting. 
Everything  thus  settled,  the  queen  with  great  secresy  made 
preparations  for  her  journey  ;  and  the  king  invited  parliament 
to  draw  up  a  complete  statement  of  its  grievances,  and  thus 
present  them  to  him  all  at  once,  promising  to  do  right  to  them 
without  the  delay  of  a  single  day,  and  thus  put  an  end  to  their 
contentions  (Jan.  20). f 

The  house  of  lords  received  this  message  with  joy ;  the 
king  had  numerous  friends  there ;  many  othei-s,  alarmed  or 
wearied  out,  only  desired  to  terminate  the  struggle  so  as  to 
leave  no  anxieties  about  the  future.  But  the  commons,  more 
clear-sighted  and  more  resolute,  could  not  believe  either  that 
the  king  would  grant  them  all  they  required,  or  that,  if  he 
promised  it,  he  would  keep  his  word.  His  proposal  ^as,  in 
their  eyes,  merely  a  stratagem  to  get  rid  of  them  at  a  blow, 
and,  dismissing  them,  to  resume  his  arbitrary  power.  They 
refused  to  concur  in  the  eager  thanks  of  the  lords,  unless  at 
the  same  time  the  king  was  distinctly  called  upon  to  transfer 
the  command  of  the  Tower,  of  the  royal  fortresses,  and  of  the 
militia,  to  men  who  possessed  the  confidence  of  parliament.^ 
The  peers  rejected  the  amendment,  but  thirty -two  protested 
against  its  rejection  ;§  and  the  commons,  strengthened  by  the 
support  of  such  a  minority,  forwarded  the  petition  to  the  king 
in  their  own  name.  His  answer  was  a  decided  refusal  (Jan. 
28)11  as  to  the  government  of  the  Tower  and  fortresses,  and 
vague  and  evasive  objections  as  to  the  militia.  His  sole  pur- 
pose evidently  was  to  yield  nothing  more,  and  meanwhile  to 
gain  time.  The  commons,  on  their  part,  did  not  wish  to  lose 
time :  well  served  at  Windsor,  as  well  as  at  London — for 
everywhere  the  opinion  of  their  strength  was  great — they  had 
spies  and  friends,  and  were  perfectly  acquainted  with  all  the 
king's  projects,  with  the  meaning  of  the  queen's  journey,  and 
with  the  intrigues  of  the  court  in  the  north  of  the  kingdom  and 

*  Clarendon,  i.,  653 ;  Orleans,  Histoire  des  Revolutions  d'Angleterre 
(1694),  book  ix. 

t  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  1045,  et  seq. 

X  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  1048.        §  lb.,  1049.         ii  Rushworth,  i.,  3,  517. 


164 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


on  the  continent.  The  danger  was  pressing ;  it  might  so  hap- 
pen that  the  king  would  be  ready  for  war  before  the  question 
of  the  militia  was  decided,  and  then,  how  resist  him  ?  Fears 
more  illusory,  but  nearer  at  hand,  agitated  the  people  ;  they 
talked  of  ammunition  removed  from  the  Tower,  of  plots  against 
the  lives  of  the  popular  leaders ;  they  were  irritated  at  con- 
quering thus  repeatedly  to  no  purpose.  A  fresh  and  energetic 
outburst  of  public  feeling,  it  was  thought,  would  alone  suffice 
to  surmount  the  new  obstacles  which  had  presented  themselves, 
to  impel  the  zealous  to  action,  excite  the  lukewarm,  and  intimi- 
date their  opponents.  Petitions  flowed  in  from  all  parts  ;  from 
all  the  counties,  from  every  class  of  citizens ;  apprentices,  lit- 
tle shopkeepers,  poor  workmen,  London  porters ;  even  women 
crowded  round  Westminster  Hall  with  petitions.  When  these 
last  appeared,  Skippon,  who  commanded  the  guard,  was  as- 
tonished :  ''  Let  us  be  heard,"  they  cried,  *'  for  one  woman 
that's  here  to-day,  there  will  be  five  hundred  to-morrow." 
Skipp6n  went  to  the  house  of  commons  for  orders,  and,  on  his 
return,  gently  persuaded  them  to  retire.  But  they  came  again 
two  days  after ;  having  chosen  Ann  Stagg,  the  wife  of  a  wealthy 
brewer,  for  their  speaker,  and  bearing  a  petition,  at  the  end 
of  which  they  had  carefully  explained  their  motives :  "  It  may 
be  thought  strange  and  unbeseeming  our  sex,"  said  they,  "  to 
show  ourselves  here,  bearing  a  petition  to  this  honorable  as- 
sembly ;  but  Christ  purchased  us  at  as  dear  a  rate  as  he  did 
men,  and  therefore  requireth  the  same  obedience  for  the  same 
mercy  as  of  men.  We  are  sharers  in  the  public  calamities. 
We  do  this,  not  out  of  self-conceit  or  pride  of  heart,  as  seeking 
to  equal  ourselves  with  men,  either  in  authority  or  wisdom  ; 
but,  according  to  our  places,  to  discharge  that  duty  we  owe  to 
God  and  the  cause  of  his  church."  The  petition  was  received  ; 
Pym  went  out  to  acknowledge  it.  He  said  :  "  Good  women, 
your  petition,  with  the  reasons,  hath  been  read  in  the  house, 
and  is  thankfully  accepted  of,  and  is  come  in  a  seasonable 
time.  Repair  to  your  houses,  we  entreat,  and  turn  your  peti- 
tions into  prayers  at  home  for  us.  We  have  been,  are,  and 
shall  be,  ready  to  relieve  you,  your  husbands,  and  children." 
They  retired  in  silence — a  remarkable  instance  of  reserve 
amidst  the  wild  excitement  of  popular  enthusiasm,  of  moral 
sobriety  amidst  the  machinations  of  party.* 

*  Almost  all  these  petitions  were  presented  between  Jan.  20  and 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


165 


The  petitions  were  all  exactly  to  the  same  effect ;  they  all 
demanded  the  reform  of  the  church,  the  chastisement  of  the 
papists,  the  repression  of  the  malignants.  Some  went  more 
into  detail,  and  in  these  the  house  of  peers  was  openly 
threatened :  "  Let  those  noble  worthies  of  the  peers,"  said  they 
to  the  commons,  *'  who  concur  with  your  happy  votes,  be 
earnestly  requested  to  join  with  your  honorable  house,  and  to 
sit  and  vote  as  one  entire  body ;  which,  we  hope,  will  remove 
our  destructive  fears,  and  removed,  prevent  that  which  ap- 
prehension will  make  the  wisest  and  peaceablest  men  to  put 
into  execution."  "  We  never  doubted  the  commons,"  cried 
the  people  at  the  gates  of  Westminster,  "  but  everything  sticks 
in  the  lords ;  let  us  have  the  names  of  those  who  hinder  the 
agreement  between  the  good  lords  and  the  commons."*  Even 
in  the  house  of  lords,  the  language  of  the  two  parties  began 
to  be  that  of  war.  "  Whoever  refuses  to  agree  with  the  com- 
mons as  to  the  militia  is  an  enemy  to  the  state,"  said  the  earl 
of  Northumberland.  He  was  called  upon  to  explain  :  "  We 
all  think  the  same !"  cried  his  friends,  then  in  the  minority  on 
this  question.  The  multitude  were  at  the  door  ;  fear  seized 
the  lords ;  several  went  out,  others  changed  their  opinion. 
The  lord  chancellor,  Littleton,  himself,  with  some  insignificant 
reservations,  voted  with  the  commons,  and  the  bill,  at  last,  re- 
ceived the  sanction  of  the  house,  as  did,  a  few  days  afterwards 
(Feb.  5),  the  bill  for  the  exclusion  of  the  bishops,  which  had 
been  three  months  in  suspense. f 

This  last  was  presented  to  the  king  by  itself  (Feb.  7),  the 
ordinance  respecting  the  militia  not  being  yet  drawn  up  ;  his 
perplexity  was  great :  he  had  just  informed  the  parliament  of 
the  queen's  approaching  journey  :  he  had,  to  soften  them, 
officially  given  up  all  proceedings  against  the  five  members^ 
(Feb.  2),  he  had  even  consented  to  appoint,  as  governor  of  the 
Tower,  sir  John  Conyers,  whom  the  commons  had  named^ 
(Feb.  11)  ;  but  his  hope  in  all  this  had  been  to  elude  any  great 
question,  till  the  time  he  should  be  in  a  position  to  refuse  doing 
anything  at  all.     The  exclusion  of  the  bishops  troubled  his 

Feb.  5,  1642  ;  that  of  the  women,  among  others,  on  Feb.  4 ;  Journals, 
Commons;  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  1049,  et  seq. 

*  Clarendon,  i.,  645  ;  iii.,  74. 

t  lb.,  i.,  648  ;  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  1099,  1367.  %  Rushworth,  i.,  3, 492. 

§  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  1087 ;  Clarendon,  i.,  655. 


166 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


conscience :  to  give  up  the  militia  was  to  place  at  the  disposi- 
tion of  his  enemies  the  whole  available  force  of  the  country. 
Yet  he  was  pressed  hard  ;  his  own  councillors  thought  he  could 
not  refuse ;  lord  Falkland,  still  supposing  him  sincere,  con- 
stantly advocated  concession ;  Colepepper,  not  particularly 
devout,  and  inclined  to  expedients,  strongly  urged  the  adoption 
of  the  bill  as  to  the  bishops,  saying  that  the  militia  were  far 
more  important,  for  that  everything  might  be  regained  by  the 
sword,  and  that  then  it  would  be  easy  to  declare  void  a  consent 
exacted  by  violence.  "  Is  this  the  advice  of  Hyde  ?"  inquired 
the  king ;  "  No,  sire  ;  I  must  own  I  think  neither  the  one  bill 
nor  the  other  ought  to  be  sanctioned."  "  You  are  quite 
right  and  I  shall  act  upon  your  opinion."  Colepepper  went 
to  the  queen,  pointed  out  to  her  the  danger  which  the  king, 
which  she  herself  was  exposed  to,  the  obstacles  which  would 
be  thrown  in  the  way  of  her  journey,  now  the  only  means  of 
placing  the  king  in  a  position  to  defeat  his  enemies.  The 
vehement  emphasis  of  his  gesticulation  and  of  his  language 
soon  agitated  and  convinced  the  queen,  as  prompt  to  fear  as 
to  hope,  and,  moreover,  not  over  friendly  towards  the 
Anglican  bishops.  She  rushed  to  her  husband's  apartments, 
and,  in  a  passion  of  tears,  implored  him  to  consult  their  own 
safety  and  that  of  their  children.  Charles  could  not  resist 
her ;  he  gave  way  with  sorrow,  and  already  repentant,  as  in 
Strafford's  trial,  authorized  the  commissioners  to  sign  the  bill 
in  his  name,  said  nothing  about  the  militia,  and  immediately 
departed  for  Dover*  (Feb.  16),  where  the  queen  was  to 
embark. 

He  had  scarcely  arrived  there,  when  a  message  from  the 
commons  followed  him;  like  Colepepper,  they  cared  much 
more  about  the  militia  than  about  the  exclusion  of  the  bishops, 
who  were  already  defeated  and  in  prison.  They  had  hastened 
to  draw  up  their  ordinance ;  they  had  set  forth  in  it  the  names 
of  the  lieutenants  who  were  to  command  in  each  county,  and 
solicited  its  immediate  sanction.  "  I  must  take  time  to  con- 
sider the  matter,"  said  the  king ;  "  I  will  give  my  answer 
on  my  return. "f  On  his  way  back,  after  the  queen  had 
embarked,:):  he  received  at  Canterbury  (Feb.  25)  another 
message,  still  more  pressing  than  the  first.    He  learned  at  the 

*  Clarendon's  Memoirs,  i.,  115.         f  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  1083,  et  »eq. 
X  The  queen  embarked  Feb.  23. 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


167 


same  time  that  the  commons  objected  to  the  departure  of  his 
son  Charles,  prince  of  Wales,  whom  he  had  directed  to  pro- 
ceed to  Greenwich,  intending  to  take  him  with  him  into  the 
north  ;  that  they  were  prosecuting  the  attorney-general,  Her- 
bert, for  having  obeyed  his  orders  in  accusing  the  five  mem- 
bers, and  that  they  had  intercepted  and  opened  a  letter  from 
lord  Digby  to  the  queen.  So  much  distrust,  after  so  much  con- 
cession, offended  him  as  much  as  though  his  concessions  had 
been  sincere.  He  received  the  messengers  angrily,  but  with- 
out giving  any  decisive  answer.*  On  arriving  at  Greenwich 
(Feb.  26),  he  found  the  prince,  whom  his  tutor,  the  marquis 
of  Hertford,  notwithstanding  the  prohibition  of  the  commons, 
on  receiving  the  king's  orders,  had  at  once  taken  thither.  At 
length  easy  as  to  his  wife  and  children,  he  sent  his  answer  to 
the  parliament  ;f  he  consented  to  entrust  the  militia  to  the 
commanders  whom  it  had  named,  but  on  condition  that  he 
might  dismiss  them,  if  he  saw  fit,  and  that  the  principal  towns 
in  the  kingdom  should  be  excepted  from  the  measure ;  in 
these  the  militia  were  to  remain  under  the  government  of  their 
charters  and  of  the  ancient  laws ;  then,  without  awaiting  its 
reply,  he  began,  by  short  stages,  his  journey  to  York.  At 
Theobalds,  twelve  commissioners  from  the  parliament  over- 
took him  (March  1);  on  receiving  his  answer,  it  voted  it  to  be 
a  positive  refusal ;  that,  if  he  persisted  in  it,  it  would  dispose 
of  the  militia  without  consulting  him,  and  that  his  return  to 
London  could  alone  prevent  the  evils  with  which  the  kingdom 
was  threatened.  The  tone  of  the  message  was  rude  and 
abrupt,  as  if  parliament  wished  to  show  it  knew  its  strength, 
and  was  not  afraid  to  use  it.  "  I  am  so  much  amazed  at  this 
message,"  said  the  king,  *'  that  I  know  not  what  to  answer. 
You  speak  of  jealousies  and  fears  !  lay  your  hands  to  your 
hearts  and  ask  yourselves  whether  I  may  not  likewise  be  dis- 
turbed with  fears  and  jealousies  ?  And  if  so,  I  assure  you 
this  message  hath  nothing  lessened  it.  As  to  the  militia,  I 
thought  so  much  of  it  before  I  sent  that  answer,  and  am  so 
much  assured  that  the  answer  is  agreeable  to  what  in  justice 
or  reason  you  can  ask,  or  I  in  honor  grant,  that  I  shall  not 
alter  it  in  any  point.  For  my  residence  near  you,  I  wish  it 
might  be  so  safe  and  honorable,  that  I  had  no  cause  to  absent 

*  Clarendon,  Memoirs,  ut  sup. 

t  Dated  Feb.  28;  Rushworth,  i.,  3,  521 :  Clarendon,  Memoirs. 


168 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


myself  from  Whitehall :  ask  yourselves  whether  I  have  not. 
For  my  son,  I  shall  take  that  care  of  him  which  shall   justify 
me  to  God,  as  a  father,  and  to  my  dominions  as  a  king.     To 
conclude,  I  assure  you,  upon  my  honor,  that  I  have  no  thought 
but  of  peace  and  justice  to  my  people,  which  I  shall  by  all 
fair  means  seek  to  preserve  and  maintain,  relying  upon  the 
goodness  and  providence  of  God,  for  the  preservation  of  myself 
and  rights;"  and  he  continued  his  journey.     A  week  after 
(March   9),    at   Newmarket,   other    commissioners    presented 
themselves ;  they  brought  a  declaration  in  which  the  parlia- 
ment, recapitulating  all  its  grievances,  all  its  fears,  justified  its 
conduct,  and  once  more  conjured  the  king  to  return  to  London, 
to  come  to  an  understanding  with  his  people,  and  thus  dissi- 
pate the  dark  presentiments  which  agitated  all  minds.     Deep 
feeling  pervaded  the  firm  language  in  which  the  message  was 
couched  ;  it  equally  manifested  itself  in  the  interview  between 
the  commissioners  and  the  king :  the  conversation  was  long, 
urgent,  earnest,  as  of  men  profoundly  moved  by  the  prospect 
of  impending  rupture,  and  who  were  still  endeavoring  to  per- 
suade each  other  to  avert  it ;  it  was  evident  that  though  no 
longer  hesitating  as  to  their  future  course,  though  there  were 
no  means  of  reconciliation,  though  they  felt  the  struggle  to  be 
inevitable  and  had  made  up  their  minds  to  go  through  with 
it,  yet  both  parties  felt  pain  in  commencing  it,  and,  though 
without  hope,  made  yet  a  last  effort  against  it.     "  What  would 
you  have  ?"  said  the  king.    "  Have  I  violated  your  laws  ?  have 
I  denied  to  pass  any  one  bill  for  the  ease  and  security  of  my 
subjects  ?    I  do  not  ask  you  what  you  have  done  for  me.    Have 
any  of  my  people  been  transported  with  fears  and  apprehen- 
sions ?     I  have  offered  as  free  and  general  a  pardon  as  your- 
selves can  devise.     God  so  deal  with  me  and  mine,  as  all  my 
thoughts  and  intentions  are   upright  for  the  maintenance  of 
the  true  protestant  profession,  and  for  the  observance  and 
preservation  of  the  laws  of  this  land  ;   and  I  hope  God  will 
bless  and  assist  those  laws  for  my  preservation."*     ''  But  the 
militia,  sir?"  said  lord  Holland.     *' The  militia?  I  did  not 
deny  it."     "  But  if  your  majesty  would  come  near  the  par- 
liament ?"     "  I  would  you  had  given  me  cause,  but  1  am  sure 
this  declaration  is  not  the  way  to  it.     In  all  Aristotle's  Rhe- 

♦  Rushworth,  i.,  3,  523,  524  ;  Clarendon,  Memoirs,  i.,  129. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


169 


: 


toric  there  is  no  such  argument  of  persuasion."  "The  par- 
liament," said  lord  Pembroke,  "  has  humbly  besought  your 
majesty  to  come  near  it."  "  Your  declaration  hath  taught 
me  your  words  are  not  sufficient."  "  Will  your  majesty,  then, 
deign  to  tell  us  what  you  .would  have  ?"  "  I  would  whip  a 
boy  in  Westminster  school  that  could  not  tell  that  by  my 
answer  ;  you  are  much  mistaken,  however,  if  you  think  my 
answer  to  that  a  denial."  *'  Might  not  the  militia  be  granted 
as  desired  by  parliament,  for  a  time  ?"  "  No,  by  God  !  not 
for  an  hour ;  you  have  asked  that  of  me  in  this  which  was 
never  asked  of  a  king,  and  with  which  I  would  not  trust  rty 
wife  and  children."  Then  turning  towards  the  commissioners 
of  the  commons,  he  said  :  "  The  business  of  Ireland  will  never 
be  done  in  the  way  you  are  in  ;  four  hundred  will  never  do 
that  work  ;  it  must  be  put  into  the  hands  of  one.  If  I  were 
trusted  with  it,  I  would  pawn  my  head  to  end  that  work  ;  and 
though  I  am  a  beggar  myself,  yet,  by  God,  I  can  find  money 
for  that."*  These  last  words  roused  every  suspicion;  the 
commissioners  saw  in  them  the  acknowledgment  of  hidden 
resources,  the  intention  of  throwing  parliament  into  disrepute, 
of  imputing  to  it  the  troubles  of  Ireland,  and  finally,  the  de- 
sire of  being  alone  at  the  head  of  an  army,  to  dispose  of  it  at 
his  pleasure.  The  conference  proceeded  no  further ;  the  com- 
missioners returned  to  London,  and  the  king,  continuing  his 
journey,  arrived  at  York  without  any  other  incident. 

And  now  commenced,  between  the  parliament  and  him,  a 
struggle  hitherto  without  example  in  Europe,  the  clear  and 
glorious  symptom  of  the  revolution  which  then  took  its  begin- 
ning,  and  which  was  destined  to  have  its  accomplishment  in 
our  own  times.  The  negotiations  went  on,  but  without  either  . 
party  hoping  anything  from  them,  or  even  proposing  to  treat. 
It  was  no  longer  each  other  they  addressed  in  their  declarations 
and  messages ;  both  appealed  to  the  whole  nation,  to  public 
opinion ;  to  this  new  power  both  seemed  to  look  for  their  strength 
and  their  success.     The  origin  and  extent  of  royal  power,  the 

♦  This  conversation  is  taken  fi-om  a  pamphlet  published  in  London 
immediately  after  the  return  of  the  commissioners  (at  W.  Gay's,  1642), 
and  which  contained  an  account  of  all  that  passed  between  them  and 
the  king.  The  printer  of  this  pamphlet  was  sent  for,  and  questioned 
by  the  peers  ;  but  on  his  replying  that  he  had  the  MS.  from  the  chan- 
cellor's secretary,  the  house  dismissed  him.  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  1126: 
Rush  worth,  i.,  3,  526.  ' 

16 


170 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


privileges  of  both  houses,  the  limits  of  the  allegiance  due  from 
subjects,  the  militia,  petitions,  the  distribution  of  offices,  became 
the  subjects  of  an  official  controversy,  in  which  the  general 
principles  of  social  order,  the  different  kinds  of  government, 
the  primitive  rights  of  liberty,  the  history,  laws,  and  customs 
of  England,  were  by  turns  set  forth,  explained,  and  commented 
upon.  In  the  interval  between  the  disputes  of  the  two  parties 
in  parliament,  and  their  physical  struggle  on  the  field  of  battle, 
reason  and  science  were  seen  to  create  an  interposition,  so  to 
speak,  of  several  months,  suspending  the  course  of  events  and 
using  iheir  ablest  endeavors  to  secure  the  free  adhesion  of  the 
people,  by  stamping  on  one  or  the  other  cause  the  character 
of  legitimacy.  At  the  opening  of  parliament,  England  had 
neither  desired  nor  even  thought  of  a  revolution  ;  the  dissenters 
merely  meditated  one  in  the  church  ;  the  return  to  legal  order, 
the  re-establishment  of  ancient  liberties,  the  reform  of  actual 
and  pressing  abuses,  such  had  been,  or  at  least  so  it  thought, 
the  sole  wish  and  hope  of  the  nation.  The  leaders  themselves, 
bolder  and  more  enlightened,  scarcely  formed  any  more  ex- 
tended projects ;  the  energy  of  their  will  surpassed  the  am- 
bition of  their  thoughts  ;  and  they  had  gone  on  from  day  to 
day  without  any  ultimate  aim,  without  system,  carried  forward 
simply  by  the  progressive  development  of  their  situation,  and 
to  satisfy  urgent  necessities.  When  the  moment  arrived  for 
drawing  the  sword,  all  were  aghast :  not  that  their  hearts  were 
timid,  nor  that  civil  war  in  the  abstract  had  either  in  the  eyes 
of  the  parliament  or  the  people  anything  strange  or  criminal 
about  it ;  on  the  contrary,  they  read  it  with  pride  in  the  great 
charter,  in  the  history  of  their  country  ;  more  than  once  they 
had  braved  their  masters,  had  taken  away  and  given  the 
crown  ;  and  those  times  were  so  far  back,  that  the  misery  over- 
clouding them  was  forgotten,  and  the  people  only  saw  in  them 
glorious  examples  of  their  energy  and  their  power.  But  it  had 
always  been  in  the  name  of  the  laws,  of  clear  and  acknow- 
ledged rights,  that  resistance  had  been  declared ;  in  achieving 
liberty,  England  had  ever  regarded  herself  as  only  defending 
her  inheritance  ;  and  to  these  words  alone,  "  law,"  *'  legal 
order,"  had  attached  that  popular  and  spontaneous  respect 
which  rejects  discussion,  and  sanctions  the  boldest  designs. 
Now,  however,  the  two  parties  reciprocally  accused  each 
other  of  illegality  and  innovation,  and  both  with  justice  ;  for 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


171 


the  one  had  violated  the  ancient  rights  of  the  kingdom,  and 
would  not  abjure  the  maxims  of  tyranny ;  the  other  claimed, 
jn  the  name  of  principles  as  yet  altogether  indefinite  and  con- 
fused, liberties  and  a  power  till  then  unknown.     Both  felt  the 
necessity  of  throwing  the   mantle  of  the  law  over  their  pre- 
tensions and  tlieir  acts ;  both  undertook  to  justify  themselves, 
not  only  according  to  reason,  but  according  to  law.     With 
them,  the  whole  nation  rushed  eagerly  into  the  lists,  agitated 
still  more  than  their  leaders  with  sentiments  that  seemed  to 
contradict  each  other,  yet  all  equally  sincere.     Scarcely  freed 
from  an  oppression  which  the  laws  of  their  ancestors  had  con- 
demned  but  not  prevented,  they  ardently  sought  for  more 
efficacious  guarantees ;  but  it  was  still  to  the  very  laws,  whose 
inadequacy   had   been   experienced,  that  their  hope  was  at- 
tached.    New  opinions,  new  ideas  were  fermenting  in  their 
minds ;  to  these  they  trusted  with  vivid,  pure  faith ;  they  gave 
themselves  up  with  all  their  might,  in  all  confidingness,  to  that 
enthusiasm  which  seeks  the  triumph  of  truth,  at  whatever 
price ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  unassuming  in  their  thoughts 
tenderly  faithful  to  old  customs,  full  of  respect  for  old  insti- 
tutions, they  wished  to  believe,  that,  far  from  changing  aught 
m  them,  they  were  only  rendering  them  true  homage,  and 
restoring  them  to  vigor.     Hence  a  singular  mixture  of  bold- 
ness and  timidity,  of  sincerity  and  hypocrisy,  in  the  publications 
ot  all  sorts,  official  or  otherwise,  with  which  England  was  then 
inundated.     The  ardor  of  the  national  jpind  was  unbounded 
the  movement  universal,  unprecedente(Cimmoderate  ;  at  Lon' 
don,  at  York,  in  all  the  great  towns  of  the  kingdom,  pamphlets, 
periodical  and  occasional  journals,  were  multiplied  and  difl^used 
m  every  quarter;*    political,  religious,  historical  questions, 
news,  sermons,  plans,  counsels,  invectives — everything  found 
a  place  in  them,  everything  was  brought  forward  and  discussed 
in  them.      Volunteer  messengers  hawked   them   about   the 
country ;  at  the  assizes,  on  market  days,  at  the  doors  of  churches, 
the  people  crowded  to  buy  and  read  them  ;  and,  amidst  this 
universal  outburst  of  thought,  this  so  novel  appeal  to  public 

*  The  following  are  the  titles  of  a  few  of  these  publications  •  Mer- 
curius  Aulicus— Mercurius  Britannicus— Rusticus— Pragmaticus—Po- 
hticus— Pubhcus  ;  Diurnal  Paper— Diurnal  Occurrences— A  Perfect 
Diurnal  of  some  Passages  in  Parliament;  London  Intelligencer,  &c.. 


172 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


opinion,  while  at  bottom  both  of  proceedings  and  writings  there 
already  reigned  the  principle  of  national  sovereignty  grappling 
with  the  divine  right  of  crowns,  yet  the  statutes,  the  laws,  the 
traditions,  the  customs  of  the  land,  were  constantly  invoked  as 
the  only  legitimate  criteria  of  the  dispute ;  and  the  revolution 
was  everywhere,  without  any  one  daring  to  say  so,  or  even 
perhaps  owning  it  to  himself. 

In  this  state  of  men's  minds,  the  moral  situation  of  parlia- 
ment was  a  false  one,  for  it  was  by  it,  and  for  its  advantage, 
that  the  revolution  was  being  accomplished  ;  forced  to  carry 
it  on  and  disavow  it  at  the  same  time,  its  actions  and  its  words 
alternately  belied  each  other,  and  it  fluctuated  painfully  be- 
tween boldness  and  cunning,  violence  and  hypocrisy.     Con- 
4Bidered  as  exceptional  maxjnis^and  measures^  applicable  only 
to  a  period  of  crisis,  and  to"be  laid  aside  with  the  necessity  of 
the  case,  its  principles  were  true,  and  its  resolves  legitimate  ; 
but  parties  do  not  rest  satisfied  mth  ihe^aossessio^^^ 
legitimacy,  rior^nations  labor  with  enthusiastic  devotion  for 
the  doctrines  and  interests'  of  a  day  ;  at  the  very  time  tlia!  the 
present  alone  nrte's  and  decides  their  opinions  and  their  con- 
duct, they  persuade  themselves  that  these  opinions,  this  conduct, 
have  reference  to  perpetuity,  and  assume  to  direct  the  future 
in  the  name  of  eternal  truth.     Not  content  with  taking  pos- 
session  of  sovereign  power,  the  parliament  voted  as  a  principle, 
and  as  if  to  define  the  law  of  the  land,  that  the  command  of  the 
militia  did  not  belong^o  the  king,  that  he  could  not  refuse  his 
sanction  to  bills  demanded  by  the  people,  that  the  houses, 
without  his  concurrence,  had  the  right  to  declare  what  was 
law  ;  finally,  that  it  was  good  and  lawful  to  solicit  by  petitions 
the  change  of  customs  and  statutes  in  force,  but  that  all  peti- 
tions for  their  maintenance  should  be  rejected  as  nugatory.* 
Notwithstanding  the  uncertainty  and  diversity  of  ancient  ex- 
amples, maxims  such  as  these,  established  as  permanent  and 
public  rights,  were  evidently  contrary  to  the  historical  founda- 
tion,  the  regular  state,  to  the  very  existence  of  monaJchxTThe 
king  took  advantage  of  this.     In  his  turn,  he  spoke,  in  the 
name  of  old   England,  Of  her  laws,  her  recollections.      Able 
and  learned  champions  took  up  his  cause  ;  Edward  Hyde,  who 
remained  in  London,  sometimes  alone,  sometimes  in  concert 

♦  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  1140. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


173 


i 


with  Falkland,  drew  up  answers  to  all  the  parliamentary  pub- 
lications. Rapidly  conveyed  to  York  by  secret  messengers, 
these  were  privately  delivered  to  the  king,  who  passed  the 
night  in  copying  them  with  his  own  hand,  that  no  one  might 
trace  the  author,  and  then  published  them  in  the  name  of  his 
council.*  Written  with  talent  and  perspicuity,  sometimes  with 
cutting  irony,  they  more  particularly  aimed  at  exposing  the 
subtle  machinations,  the  artifices,  the  illegality  of  the  preten- 
sions of  parliament.  Charles  no  longer  governed,  had  no 
longer  any  actual  tyranny  to  palliate ;  keeping  silence  as  to 
his  own  secret  views,  his  ultimate  designs,  his  despotic  hopes, 
he  could  invoke  the  law  against  his  enemies,  now,  in  their 
turn,  the  reigning  despots.  Such  was  the  effect  of  the  royal 
publications,  that  parliament  made  every  efibrt  to  suppress 
them,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  king  caused  the  messages 
of  parliament  to  be  printed  parallel  with  his  answers. f  The 
royalist  party  visibly  increased  ;  they  soon  grew  bolder,  and 
turned  the  arms  of  liberty  against  their  adversaries  ;  George 
Benyon,  a  rich  merchant  in  the  city,  addressed  a  petition  to 
both  houses  against  their  ordinance  on  the  militia,  and  many 
considerable  citizens  signed  it  with  him.  J  The  gentlemen  of 
Kent,  at  the  Maidstone  assizes  (March  25),  drew  up  another 
in  favor  of  the  prerogative  and  of  episcopacy  ;§  a  few  members 
of  parliament,  sir  Edward  Bering  among  others,  who  first  intro- 
duced the  bill  against  the  bishops,  openly  invited  these  proceed- 
ings. ||  The  royal  pamphlets  met  with  great  favor;  they  were 
pungent,  high-toned,  in  a  vein  of  refined  and  contemptuous  su- 
periority;  even  among  the  populace,  abuse  of  the  leaders  of  the 
commons  found  welcome  and  credit ;  they  repeated  the  sneers 
about  "  king  Pym,"  and  the  *'  sugar-loaves"  he  had  formerly 
received  as  presents,  and  the  "  10,000Z.  of  the  king's  money" 
that  he  had,  it  was  said,  just  given  as  a  marriage  portion  with 
his  daughter ;  about  the  cowardice  of  the  earl  of  Warwick, 
"  whose  soul  was  in  his  shoes,"  and  a  thousand  other  coarse 
imputations,  which  lately  none  would  have  repeated  or  even 
listened  to. IT  In  both  houses,  the  king's  friends  showed  them- 
selves haughty  and  irascible  ;  men  who  till  then  had  remained 
silent,  sir  Ralph  Hopton,  lord  Herbert,  repelled  sternly  all  in- 


*  Clarendon's  Mem.,  i.,  131 ;  Warwick's  Mem.,  209. 
t  Rushworth,  i.,  3,  751.         J  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  1150.  §  lb.,  1147 

II  lb.  IT  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  1164,  1405. 

15* 


174 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


171 


MX 


sinuations  offensive  to  his  honor.  It  was  clear  that  in  the  opi- 
nion of  many  his  cause  was  gaining  ground,  and  that  they  would 
uphold  it  on  occasion,  for  they  no  longer  hesitated  to  adopt  it. 
Parliament  took  the  alarm  ;  the  self-love  of  the  leaders  was 
touched ;  nursed  in  popularity,  they  could  not  patiently  endure 
insult  and  contempt,  or  that  in  this  war  of  the  pen,  the  advan- 
tage should  remain  with  their  enemies.  To  this  new  danger, 
as  much  from  personal  anger  as  from  policy,  they  opposed 
utter  tyranny ;  all  freedom  of  discussion  ceased  ;  sir  Ralph 
Hopton  was  sent  to  the  Tower  (March  7),*  lord  Herbert  cen- 
sured  and  threatened  (May  20),'|"  George  Benyon  and  sir  Ed- 
ward Dering  impeached  (March  31  and  April  26),:):  the  petition 
of  the  county  of  Kent  thrown  under  the  table  (March  25). § 
There  was  a  rumor  that  it  was  going  to  be  presented  again ; 
Cromwell  hastened  to  inform  the  commons  of  this  report,  and 
received  orders  to  prevent  its  being  carried  into  effect  (April 
28). II  As  yet  little  noticed  in  the  house,  but  more  able  and 
already  more  deeply  engaged  than  any  other  in  the  machina- 
tions of  the  revolution,  it  was  in  its  external  business,  in  ex- 
citing the  people,  in  watching,  in  denouncing,  in  tricking  the 
royalists  out  of  doors,  that  this  man's  activity  and  influence 
were  more  especially  engaged. 

That  war  was  near  at  hand  was  no  longer  doubtful ;  the 
two  parties  could  no  longer  live  together,  or  sit  within  the 
same  walls.  Every  day  members  of  parliament  were  leav- 
ing London  ;  some,  disgusted  or  alarmed,  retired  to  their  es- 
tates ;  others  sought  elsewhere,  far  from  an  arena  where  they 
were  conscious  of  defeat,  fresh  arms  against  their  enemies. 
Most  of  them  repaired  to  the  king,  nearly  all  his  councillors 
had  already  joined  him. IT  An  unexpected  incident  hastened 
this  movement,  and  irrevocably  separated  the  two  parties. 
On  the  23d  of  April,  the  king,  at  the  head  of  three  hundred 
horse,  advanced  towards  Hull,  and  sent  word  to  sir  John  Ho- 
tham,  the  governor  of  the  place,  to  deliver  it  into  his  hands. 
Weak,  irresolute,  far  from  inveterate  against  the  crown,  and 
without  instructions  for  the  regulation  of  his  conduct,  sir 
John,  in  utter  perplexity,  entreated  the  king  to  wait  until  he 
had  communicated  his  orders  to  the  parliament.  But  Charles 
continued  to  advance,  and  at  eleven  o'clock  appeared  under 


•  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  1118. 
§  lb.,  1147. 


t  lb.,  1242. 
II  lb.,  1194. 


tib.,  1149,  1188. 
^May,  ii.,  58. 


^ 


, 


the  walls.  He  had  already  adherents  in  the  town  ;  the  even- 
ing  before,  his  son  James,  duke  of  York,  his  nephew,  the 
prince  palatine,  and  lord  Newport,  had  entered  it  under  the 
pretence  of  passing  a  day  there.  The  mayor  and  some  of 
the  citizens  were  proceeding  towards  the  gates  for  the  purpose 
of  opening  them ;  Hotham  ordered  them  to  return  to  their 
homes,  and,  followed  by  his  officers,  went  on  the  ramparts. 
There  the  king,  in  person,  summoned  him  to  admit  him. 
Sir  John  fell  upon  his  knees,  and  in  a  great  perturbation  ex- 
cused himself  from  doing  so,  on  the  ground  of  the  oath  he 
had  taken  to  keep  Ihe  place  at  the  disposition  of  parliament. 
Violent  murmurs  arose  among  the  cavaliers  who  surrounded 
the  king;  they  threatened  sir  John,  calling  him  rebel  and 
traitor  :  '*  Kill  him !"  they  cried  to  the  officers  of  the  garri- 
son, "  throw  him  over  !"  but  it  was  the  officers  who  had  de- 
cided the  governor's  resistance.  In  vain  did  Charles  himself 
endeavor  to  intimidate  or  seduce  them ;  after  a  long  parley, 
he  retired  to  a  short  distance,  and,  an  hour,  after,  sent  a  re- 
quest to  sir  John  to  admit  him  with  only  twenty  horse.  Ho- 
tham refused  this  also.  "  If  he  had  entered  with  only  ten 
men,"  he  wrote  to  the  parliament, "  I  should  no  longer  have  been 
master  of  the  town."  The  king  returned  to  the  foot  of  the 
rampart,  caused  Hotham  and  his  adherents  to  be  proclaimed 
traitors,  and  the  same  day  addressed  a  message  to  parliament 
demanding  justice  for  such  an  outrage.* 

The  parliament  fully  adopted  all  the  governor  had  done, 
and  returned  for  answer  to  the  king,  that  neither  the  fortresses 
nor  arsenals  of  the  kingdom  were  personal  property,  which 
he  could  claim  in  virtue  of  any  law,  as  a  citizen  could  his 
field  or  his  house  ;  that  the  care  of  these  places  had  been 
vested  in  him  for  the  safety  of  the  kingdom,  and  that  the 
same  motive  might  authorize  parliament  to  assume  that 
charge.f  The  answer,  frank  and  legitimate  enough,  was 
equivalent  to  a  declaration  of  war.  It  was  considered  as 
such  by  both  parties.  Thirty-two  lords,  and  more  than  sixty 
members  of  the  commons,  Mr.  Hyde,  among  others,  departed 
for  York.:):     The  earls  of  Essex  and  Holland,  the  one  lord- 

*  Clarendon,  i.,  792  ;  Rushworth,  i.,  3,  567  ;  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  1197,  in 
which  is  to  be  seen  the  letter  written  by  Hotham  himself,  giving  the 
parliament  an  account  of  the  event. 

t  Pari.  Hist,  ii„  1188,  &c. 

X  May,  ut  8up.  ;  Clarendon's  Mem.  i.,  174.     On  June  16,  1642,  a 


176 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


177 


chamberlain,  the  other  first  gentleman  of  the  bed-chamber, 
received  orders  from  the  king  to  join  him  ;  he  wished  to 
secure  their  persons,  and  deprive  parliament  of  their  support. 
With  the  sanction  of  (he  house,  they  refused  to  obey,  and 
were  forthwith  deprived  of  their  offices.*  The  chancellor, 
Littleton,  after  long  and  pusillanimous  hesitation,  sent  the 
great  seal  to  the  king,  and  got  away  himself  the  next  day. 
This  produced  much  sensation  in  London,  where  legal  go- 
vernment was  generally  considered  inherent  in  the  possessor 
of  the  great  seal.  The  peers  were  agitated  and  ready  to  give 
way.  But  the  energy  of  the  commons  prevented  all  indeci- 
sion. The  absent  members  were  summoned  to  return  (May 
25  and  June  2)  ;'f  on  the  formal  refusal  of  nine  lords  to  do  so, 
they  were  at  once  impeached  (June  15) ; J  every  citizen  was 
forbidden  to  take  up  arms  at  the  command  of  the  king  (May 
17)  ;§  directions  were  sent  into  every  county  for  the  immedi- 
ate organization  of  the  militia  (June  4);||  in  many  places  it 
met  and  exercised  spontaneously.  The  transfer  of  the  stores 
of  Hull  to  London  was  ordered,  and,  notwithstandincr  all  obsta- 
cles,  accomplished. IT  The  king  had  ordered  the  Westminster 
assizes  to  be  held  at  York,  in  order  to  concentrate  around  him 
all  legal  government ;  but  the  parliament  opposed  the  order, 
and  was  obeyed.**  Finally,  the  commons  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  negotiate  a  loan  in  the  city,  without  any  statement 
as  to  its  intended  application  (May  31)  ;'t"f  and  commissioners 
were  dispatched  to  York,  all  rich  and  influential  gentlemen  of 
the  county,  with  orders  to  reside  near  the  king,  despite 
anything  he  might  say  to  the  contrary,  and  to  send  word  to 
parliament  of  whatever  they  should  observe  (May  2).:|::j: 

formal  appeal  to  the  house  of  commons  certified  the  absence  of  sixty- 
five  members  to  be  without  any  known  and  legitimate  excuse  ;  it  was 
proposed  that  they  should  not  re-enter  the  house  till  they  had  justified 
the  motives  of  their  absence  ;  and  this  motion  passed  by  a  majority  of 
fifty-five ;  some  proposed  that  they  should  each  be  fined  twenty-five 
pounds  ;  but  this  proposition  was  negatived  by  a  majority  of  twenty- 
five;  Pari.  Hist.,  h.,  1373. 

♦  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  1171 ;  Clarendon,  i.,  739. 

tParl.  Hist,  ii.,  1296,  1327. 

t  lb.,  1368.  §  lb.,  1235.  I|  lb.,  1328. 

ir  lb.,  1319.  •*  lb.,  1233.  tt  lb.,  1323. 

Xt  These  commissioners  were  the  lords  Howard  and  Fairfax,  sir 
Hugh  Cholmondley,  sir  Henry  Cholmondley,  and  sir  Philip  Stapleton ; 
Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  1206,  1210,  1212. 


The  firmness  of  the  commissioners  was  equal  to  the  perils 
of  their  mission.  "  Gentlemen,"  said  the  king,  when  they 
arrived  (May  9),*  "  what  do  you  want  here  ?  I  command  you 
to  depart."  On  their  refusal :  "  If  you  will  positively  disobey 
me,"  said  he,  "  I  advise  you  not  to  make  any  party,  or  hinder 
my  service  in  the  country,  for  if  you  do,  I'll  clap  you  up." 
They  answered  respectfully,  but  remained,  daily  insulted, 
often  threatened,  seldom  at  liberty  to  go  out,  but  managing  to 
get  information  as  to  all  that  was  passing,  and  to  send  the 
intelligence  up  to  London.  All  York,  like  all  London,  was  in 
active  motion  ;  the  king  began  to  levy  a  guard  ;  but  not  ven- 
turing absolutely  to  command  this  service,  he  had  called  to- 
gether the  gentlemen  of  the  neighborhood,  that  he  might  obtain 
it  from  their  zeal.f  The  meeting  was  numerous  and  noisy 
(May  15)  ;  if  loud  acclamations  greeted  every  word  the  king 
said  ;  the  parliamentary  commissioners  were  hooted  when  they 
made  their  appearance.  But  that  same  day  there  came  to 
York  several  thousand  freeholders  and  farmers,  whom  the 
grandees  had  not  thought  fit  to  summon  ;  they  had,  they  said, 
the  same  right  as  the  gentlemen  to  deliberate  on  the  affairs  of 
the  county,  and  presented  themselves,  accordingly,  at  the  door 
of  the  hall  in  which  the  royalists  had  assembled.  Entrance 
was  denied  them  ;  they  assembled  elsewhere,  and  protested 
against  the  measures  they  heard  were  being  resolved  upon  by 
the  gentry.  Even  the  latter  were  divided  ;  for  to  the  propo- 
sition for  levying  a  guard,  more  than  fifly  gentlemen  replied 
by  a  refusal,  signed  with  their  names  ;  at  the  head  of  the  list 
appeared  sir  Thomas  Fairfax,  then  young  and  unknown,  but 
at  heart  the  brave  and  sincere  patriot  he  afterwards  proved 
himself  §  ■■Clmrie  ii,  iiiftftiTdated  at  TOs'aspect  of  "allairs,  an- 
nounced another  meeting,  to  which  all  the  freeholders  should 
be  summoned  :  the  parliament  commissioners  were  forbidden 
to  attend,  but  the  meeting  being  held  on  Heyworth  Moor 
(June  3),  near  their  residence,  their  friends  brought  them 
word  what  was  passing,  and  sought  their  advice  how  to  pro- 
ceed. More  than  forty  thousand  men  were  present,  freeholders, 
farmers,  citizens,  on  foot,  on  horseback,  some  in  groups,  others 

*  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  1222  ;  Clarendon,  249.  t  Clarendon,  i.,  832. 

X  May,  ii.,  54. 

§  From  a  letter  of  the  York  Committee,  dated  May  13  ;  Pari.  Hist., 
ii.,  1226,  1233. 


178 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH  REVOLUTION. 


179 


i 


running  to  and  fro  to  collect  their  friends.  The  cavaliers  soon 
perceived  that  a  petition  was  circulating  amongst  them,  be- 
seeching the  king  to  banish  all  thought  of  war,  and  to  reconcile 
himself  with  the  parliament.  They  burst  into  invective  and 
menaces,  rode  violently  in  upon  the  groups,  snatching  the 
copies  of  the  petition  from  the  hands  of  those  who  were  read- 
ing it,  and  declaring  that  the  king  would  not  receive  it.* 
Charles  arrived,  annoyed  and  perplexed,  not  knowing  what  to 
say  to  this  multitude,  whose  presence  and  turbulence  already 
offended  his  impracticable  hauteur.  Having  read  a  cold, 
equivocal  declaration,  he  was  hastily  withdrawing  to  avoid 
any  reply,  when  young  Fairfax,  managing  to  get  near  him, 
fell  suddenly  on  one  knee,  and  placed  the  people's  petition  on 
the  pommel  of  his  saddle,  thus  braving,  even  at  his  feet,  the 
king's  displeasure,  who  urged  his  horse  roughly  against  him, 
to  force  him  to  retire,  but  in  vain.f 

So  much  boldness  in  the  king's  presence,  in  the  county  most 
devoted  to  his  cause,  intimidated  the  royalists,  particularly 
those  just  arrived  from  London,  with  their  minds  full  of  the 
power  and  energy  of  parliament.  It  was  quite  enough,  they 
thought,  to  have  given  the  king  so  perilous  a  token  of  their 
zeal  as  to  come  and  join  him  ;  they  did  not  wish  to  compromise 
themselves  further,  and,  once  at  York,  showed  themselves  cold 
and  timid.  J  Charles  requested  from  them  a  declaration  of  the 
motives  which  had  constrained  them  to  leave  London;  he 
wanted  it  for  the  purpose  of  showing  that  after  so  much  tumult, 
such  violence,  the  parliament  being  no  longer  free  had  ceased 
to  be  legal.  They  signed  it,  but  the  next  day  several  of  them 
informed  the  king  that  if  he  published  it  they  should  be  obliged 
to  deny  it.  "  What,  then,  would  you  have  me  do  with  it  ?" 
asked  Charles,  angrily  ;  but  they  persisted,  and  the  declaration 
did  not  appear.^  Notwithstanding  the  concourse  and  boast- 
ings of  the  cavaliers,  nothing  was  done  ;  neither  money,  arms, 
jior  ammunition,  not  even  provisions,  were  to  be  found  at  York  ; 
the  king  had  scarcely  enough  to  furnish  his  own  table  and  to 

*  In  the  sixth  letter  of  the  York  committee  to  the  parliament,  dated 
June  4  ;  and  in  a  letter  of  sir  John  Bourchier  to  his  cousin  sir  Thomas 
Barrin^on,  member  of  the  house  of  commons  of  the  same  date ;  Pari. 
Hist,  li.,  1345,1353. 

t  Carte's  Life  of  Ormond,  i.,  357.  t  Clarendon,  i.,  1021. 

§  lb.,  1022. 


provide  for  the  ordinary  expenses  of  his  household.*  The 
queen  had  sold  some  of  the  crown  jewels  in  Holland,  but  such 
w£is  the  influence  of  the  menaces  of  parliament,  that  a  long 
time  elapsed  before  she  could  send  the  amount  to  the  king.j- 
He  forbade  all  his  subjects  to  obey  the  ordinance  respecting 
the  militia  (May  27),^  and  himself  gave  commissions  to  the 
chief  royalists  in  every  county  to  levy  and  organize  it  in  his 
name.§  But  immediately  afterwards,  to  palliate  the  effect  of 
this  measure,  he  protested  that  he  had  no  thought  of  war ;  and 
the  lords  at  York  declared,  by  an  official  manifesto,  carefully 
circulated,  that  to  their  knowledge  no  preparations,  no  pro- 
ceedings announced  any  such  intention.  ||  So  much  indecision 
and  deception  did  not  arise  from  weakness  alone  ;  ever  since 
the  arrival  of  the  seceders  from  parliament,  Charles  had  been 
tormented  with  the  most  conflicting  councils :  convinced  that 
his  most  secure  strength  lay  in  the  respect  of  the  people  for 
legal  order,  the  lawyers,  magistrates,  and  more  temperate  men 
were  of  opinion  that  henceforth,  strictly  observing  the  laws 
himself,  he  should  throw  upon  parliament  alone  the  discredit 
of  violating  them  :  the  cavaliers  loudly  insisted  that  delay 
would  ruin  everything,  that  on  all  occasions  it  was  best  to 
anticipate  the  enemy ;  and  Charles,  unable  to  give  up  the  sup- 
port of  either  class  of  advisers,  essayed  by  turns  to  satisfy  each. 
The  situation  of  parliament  had,  on  the  contrary,  become 
greatly  simplified  ;  the  departure  of  so  many  royalist  members 
had  left  the  leaders  of  the  revolution  in  undisturbed  possession 
of  power ;  a  few  dissenting  voices  were  still  now  and  then 
heard,  but  reduced  to  the  melancholy  task  of  deploring  and 
warning ;  the  house  scarcely  deigned  to  make  them  any  reply 
whatever.  A  decided  majority  deeming  war  inevitable,  boldly 
accepted  it,  though  with  very  different  views  and  feelings. 
To  keep  up  appearances,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  devise 
means  of  preventing  it  (May  27)  jIT  proposals  of  accommoda- 
tion,  in  nineteen  articles,  were  even  drawn  up  and  formally 

•  Clarendon,  i.,  1022.  f  lb. 

X  Rushworth,  i.,  3,  550. 

§  The  first  commission  of  this  kind  was  given  to  lord  Hastings,  for 
the  county  of  Leicester,  June  11 ;  Rushworth,  i.,  3,  655. 

11  This  declaration,  dated  June  15,  was  signed  by  forty-five  lords  or 
members  of  the  council;  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  1373  ;  Clarendon,  i.,  1022. 

IT  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  1319. 


180 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


181 


I 


sent  to  the  king  (June  2).*  But  while  awaiting  his  answer, 
they  continued  to  suppress  every  petition  for  the  maintenance 
of  peace,")'  and  military  preparations  were  pushed  forward 
openly  and  vigorously.  Charles  had  offered  to  go  in  person  to 
suppress  the  Irish  rebellion,  every  day  increasing  in  violence  ; 
his  offer  was  rejected  (April  15)4  He  refused  to  appoint  lord 
Warwick,  whom  the  commons  had  recommended,  commander 
of  the  fleet  (March  31)  ;  Warwick  assumed  the  command, 
notwithstanding  his  refusal. §  The  lord  mayor,  Gourney,  had 
the  boldness  to  publish  in  London  the  king's  commission,  order- 
ing the  raising  of  the  militia  for  his  service  and  in  his  name ; 
he  was  impeached,  sent  to  the  Tower,  dismissed  his  office,  and 
alderman  Pennington,  a  zealous  puritan,  put  in  his  place 
(Aug.  18).||  The  city  lent  100,000/.  (June  4)  ;1[  100,000/. 
were  taken  from  the  funds  destined  for  the  relief  of  Ireland 
(July  30)  ;**  a  subscription  was  opened  in  both  houses  (June 
10) ;  each  member,  addressed  in  turn,  was  requested  to  state 
his  intention  at  once.  Some  refused  :  *'  If  there  be  occasion," 
said  sir  Henry  Killigrew,  "  I  shall  provide  myself  with  a  good 
horse  and  a  good  sword,  and  make  no  question  I  shall  find  a 
good  cause ;"  but,  having  said  this,  he  felt  it  prudent  to  retire 
to  his  country  seat,  for  after  such  a  speech  he  could  not  have 
passed  through  the  streets  of  London  without  absolute  danger.^f 
The  ardor  of  the  people  was  at  its  height ;  in  the  city  as  at 
Westminster,  the  withdrawal  of  the  royalist  members  had  dis- 
couraged their  partisans.  The  parliament  made  an  appeal  to 
the  patriotism  of  the  citizens  ;  money,  plate,  jewels,  everything 
was  put  in  requisition  to  equip  some  squadrons  of  horse,  under 
the  promise  of  interest  at  eight  per  cent.  The  pulpits  resounded 
with  the  exhortations  of  the  preachers  ;  the  amount  realized 
exceeded  the  demands  of  the  most  enthusiastic,  the  expecta- 
tions of  the  most  sanguine  ;  during  ten  whole  days  there  was 
a  constant  influx  of  plate  to  Guildhall  ;  there  were  not  enough 
men  to  receive  it,  not  room  enough  to  hold  it ;  poor  women 
brought  their  wedding-rings,  their  gold  or  silver  hair-pins; 

*  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  1324;  May,  ii.,  75. 

t  Among  others,  a  petition  prepared  at  the  beginning  of  June,  in  the 
county  of  Somerset ;  Pari.  Hist.,  li.,  1366. 

X  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  1169.  §_Ib.,  1164 ;  May,  ii.,  94. 

II  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  1203  ;  State  Trials,  iv.,  159. 

IT  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  1308.        **  May,  ii.,  121 ;  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  1443. 

tt  Clarendon,  i.,  1016. 


numbers  had  to  wait  a  long  time  before  their  offerings  could  be 
taken  out  of  their  hands.*  Informed  of  this  success  on  the  part 
of  the  Commons,  Charles  was  willing  to  attempt  the  same  means ; 
but  enthusiasm  is  not  a  matter  of  imitation.  The  university 
of  Oxford  sent  its  plate  to  the  king ;  following  its  example, 
Cambridge,  also,  had  its  plate  packed  up  ;  part  of  it,  indeed, 
was  already  gone,  when  Cromwell,  ever  vigilant,  arrived  sud- 
denly, and  prevented  them  from  sending  away  any  more.f 
The  king's  commissioners  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  col- 
lecting, from  one  country-seat  to  another,  a  few  trifling  contri- 
butions ;  and,  scoffing  at  the  niggards,  a  futile  and  dangerous 
gratification  for  a  defeated  court,  was  the  only  consolation  left 
to  the  cavaliers. 

The  propositions  for  accommodation  reached  York  ;J  they 
surpassed  the  predictions  of  the  most  hot-headed  royalists,  and 
deprived  the  most  moderate  of  hope.  The  parliament  de- 
manded the  complete  destruction  of  prerogative,  and  that  power 
should  rest  entirely  in  its  hands,  the  creation  of  new  peers, 
the  appointment  or  dismissal  of  all  public  officers  whatsoever, 
the  education  and  marriage  of  the  king's  children  ;  that  in 
military,  civil,  and  religious  affairs,  nothing  was  to  be  done 
without  the  formal  permission  of  parliament.  Such  was,  at 
bottom,  the  true  aim,  and  was  one  day  to  be  the  inestimable 
result  of  the  revolution  ;  but  the  time^as  not  yet  come  when 
this  substitution  of  parliamentary  for  royaTgovefnmBnt  could 
be  accomplished  4)y-4he  natural  working  of  institutions,  and 
the  predominant,  though  indirect,  influence  of  ihe  commons  on 
the  daily  exercise  of  power.  Not  in  a  position  to  impose  its 
leaders  upon  the  crown  as  state  advisers,  the  national  party 
felt  itself  constrained  to  subject  the  crown  officially  to  its  do- 
minion, convinced  it  could  not  otherwise  be  secure  ;  a  falla- 
cious and  impracticable  method,  ®«toilated  to  no^other 
than  to  j)lunge  the  state  in  anarchy,  but  at  this  time*  the  only 
plan'which  its  al)le"st  members  couT?rdevise;^^'R5a3ing  tire 
proposals,  the  Ttlng^s  eyes  Bashed  wit!raTige?j  his  countenance 
was  suffused  with  a  deep  crimson  :  "  These  being  past,"  he 
said,  "  we  may  be  waited  on  bare-headed  ;  we  may  have  our 

♦  May,  iii.,  81 ;  Clarendon,  i.,  1016  ;  Whitelocke,  60. 
t  May,  ii.,  108 ;  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  1453  ;  Querela  Cantabrigiensis  (1685), 
182  ;  Barwick's  Life  (1724),  24. 
X  They  were  presented  to  the  king  on  the  17th  of  June. 

16 


182 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


183 


hand  kissed,  the  style  of  *  majesty '  continued  to  us,  and  *  the 
king's  authority  declared  by  both  houses  of  parliament,'  may 
still  be  the  style  of  your  commands  ;  we  may  have  swords 
and  maces  carried  before  us,  and  please  ourselves  with  the 
sight  of  a  crown  and  sceptre  (and  yet  even  these  twigs  would 
not  long  flourish,  when  the  stock  upon  which  they  grew  was 
dead) ;  but  as  to  true  and  real  power,  we  should  remain  but 
the  outsides,  but  the  picture,  but  the  sign  of  a  king."*  He 
broke  off  all  further  negotiation. 

The  parliament  expected  no  other  answer.  As  soon  as  it 
received  it,  all  hesitation,  even  in  form,  disappeared ;  civil 
war  was  put  to  the  house  (July  9).  One  voice  alone,  the 
same  which  in  the  opening  of  the  session  had  first  denounced 
public  grievances,  was  now  lifted  in  opposition.  "  Mr.  Speak- 
er," said  sir  Benjamin  Rudyard,  "  I  am  touched,  I  am  pierced 
with  an  apprehension  Of  the-4iDnor  of  the  house  and  success 
of  this  parliament ;  but  that  we  may  better  consider  the  con- 
dition we  are  in,  let  us  set  ourselves  three  years  back.  If  any 
man  then  could  have  credibly  told  us,  that  within  three  years 
the  queen  shall  be  gone  out  of  England  into  the  Low  Coun- 
tries, for  any  cause  whatsoever ;  the  king  shall  remove  from 
his  parliament,  from  London  to  York,  declaring  himself  not 
to  be  safe  here  ;  that  there  shall  be  a  total  rebellion  in  Ire- 
land ;  such  discord  and  distempers  both  in  church  and  state 
here,  as  now  we  find — certainly  we  should  have  trembled 
at  the  thought  of  it ;  wherefore  it  is  fit  we  should  be  sensible 
now  we  are  in  it.  On  the  other  side,  if  any  man  then  could 
have  credibly  told  us,  that  within  three  years  ye  shall  have 
a  parliament,  it  would  have  been  good  news ;  that  Ship-Mo- 
ney  shall  be  taken  away  by  an  act  of  parliament,  the  reasons 
and  grounds  of  it  so  rooted  out,  as  that  neither  it,  nor  any- 
thing like  it,  can  ever  grow  up  again  ;  that  monopolies,  the 
high  commission  court,  the  star-chamber,  the  bishops'  votes, 
shall  be  taken  away ;  the  council  table  regulated  and  re- 
strained, the  forests  bounded  and  limited,  ye  shall  have  a  tri- 
ennial parliament,  nay,  more  than  that,  a  perpetual  parliament, 
which  none  shall  have  the  power  to  dissolve  but  yourselves — 
we  should  have  thought  this  a  dream  of  happiness.  Yet,  now 
we  are  in  the  real  possession  of  it,  we  do  not  enjoy  it.     We 

*  Rushworth,  i.,  3,  728. 


I 


stand  upon  further  security,  whereas  the  very  having  of  these 
things  is  a  convenient,  fair  security,  mutually  securing  one 
another.  Let  us  beware  we  do  not  contend  for  such  a  hazard- 
ous, unsafe  security  as  may  endanger  the  loss  of  what  we 
have  already.  Though  we  had  all  we  desire,  we  cannot  make 
a  mathematical  security  :  all  human  caution  is  susceptible  of 
corruption  and  failing.     God's  providence  will  not  be  bound ; 

success  must  be  his Mr.  Speaker,  it  now  behoves  us 

to  call  up  all  the  wisdom  we  have  about  us,  for  we  are  at  the 
very  brink  of  combustion  and  confusion.  If  blood  begins 
once  to  touch  blood,  we  shall  presently  fell  into  a  certain 
misery,  and  must  attend  an  uncertain  success,  God  knows 
when,  and  God  knows  what !  Every  man  here  is  bound  in  con- 
science to  employ  his  utmost  endeavors  to  prevent  the  effusion 
of  blood.  Blood  is  a  crying  sin,  it  pollutes  a  land.  Let  us 
save  our  liberties  and  our  estates,  but  so  as  we  may  save  our 
souls  too.  Now  I  have  clearly  delivered  my  own  conscience, 
I  leave  every  man  freely  to  his."*  Vain  appeal  of  a  wor- 
thy man,  whose  only  course  now  was  to  retire  from  an 
arena  henceforth  too  agitated  for  his  calm,  pure  mind.  Other 
anticipations,  other  fears,  equally  legitimate,  though  allied  to 
more  headlong,  less  virtuous  passions,  imperiously  dominated 
the  national  party  ;  and  the  day  was  come,  in  which  good  and 
evil,  salvation  and  peril,  were  so  obscurely  confounded  and 
intermixed,  that  the  firmest  minds,  incapable  of  disentan- 
gling them,  were  made  the  instruments  of  Providence,  who 
alternately  chastises  kings  by  their  people,  and  people  by 
their  kings.  Only  forty-five  members  in  the  commons  shared 
the  scruples  of  Rudyard  ;f  and  in  the  house  of  peers  the  earl 
of  Portland  alone  protested.^  War  measures  were  forthwith 
adopted  ;  the  houses  seized,,  for  their  own  use,  all  the  public 
revenues  ;§  the  counties  were  ordered  to  provide  arms  and 
ammunition,  and  to  be  ready  at  the  first  signal.  Under  the 
title  of  the  committee  of  safety,  five  peers  and  ten  members  of 
the  house  of  commons  were  charged  with  the  care  of  the  pub- 
lic defence,  and  to  see  the  orders  of  parliament  executed  (July 

•  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  1417. 

t  The  levying  of  10,000  volunteers  in  London  was  voted  in  the  com- 
mons, by  125  to  45 ;  ib.,  ii.,  1409. 
t  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  1414.  §  lb.,  1349. 


184 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH    EEVOLUTION. 


185 


4,  1642).*  Finally,  the  formation  of  an  army  was  decreed, 
to  consist  of  twenty  regiments  of  foot,  of  about  a  thousand 
men  each,  and  of  seventy-five  squadrons,  each  of  sixty  horse. 
Lord  Kimbolton,  lord  Brook,  sir  John  Merrick,  Hampden, 
Holies,  Cromwel!,  leaders  of  the  people  in  the  camp  as  well 
as  at  Westminster,  received  commands  in  it.  The  earl  of 
Essex  was  appointed  general-in-chief.f 

♦  The  five  lords  were  the  earls  of  Northumberland,  Essex,  Pem- 
broke, Holland,  and  viscount  Say  ;  the  ten  members  of  the  commons, 
Hampden,  Pym,  Holies,  Martin,  Fiennes,  Pierpoint,  Glyn,  sir  William 
Waller,  sir  Philip  Stapleton,  and  sir  John  Merrick. 

t  The  reader  will  doubtless  feel  an  interest  in  reading  the  history  of 
the  commanders  of  this  truly  national  army ;  it  will  be  found  in  the 
Appendix,  No.  VI. 


t 


n 


BOOK  THE  FOURTH. 
1642—1643. 

Breaking  out  of  the  civil  war — The  king  raises  his  standard  at  Notting- 
ham— Battle  of  Ed^ehill — Alarms  in  London — Fight  of  Brentford — 
Attempts  at  negotiation — Character  of  the  civil  war — The  queen 
returns  from  the  continent — Negotiations  at  Oxford — Distrust  of  the 
Earl  of  Essex — Internal  dissensions  of  parliament — Royalist  conspi- 
racy in  the  city — Death  of  Hampden — Repeated  defeats  of  the  par- 
liament— Its  energy — Efforts  of  the  partisans  of  peace  in  parliament 
— Project  of  the  king  to  march  upon  London — The  project  defeated 
— Siege  of  Gloucester — Raised  by  Essex — Battle  of  Newbury — Death 
of  Lord  Falkland — Alliance  of  Parliament  with  the  Scots — Trium- 
phant return  of  Essex  to  London. 

On  hearing  of  these  arrangements,  the  king,  freed  from  all 
uncertainty,  in  his  turn  displayed  a  greater  degree  of  vigor. 
A  small  supply  of  stores  and  ammunition  had  reached  him 
from  Holland  -,  the  queen  promised  more.*  The  marquis  of 
Hertford,  the  earl  of  Northampton,  lord  Strange,  sir  Ralph 
Hopton,  sir  Henry  Hastings,  the  commissioners  whom  the 
king  had  despatched  to  raise  troops  in  his  name,  met  with 
some  success  in  the  western  and  northern  counties.^  Goring, 
the  governor  of  Portsmouth,  had  declared  in  his  favor.ij:  The 
cavaliers  were  rising  in  all  directions  ;  they  spread  over  the 
country,  entered  by  force  the  houses  of  the  friends  of  the  par- 
liament, carried  off  money,  horses,  arms,  and  brought  them 
to  York,  proud  of  their  booty  and  of  their  easy  victories. 
Charles  at  once  comprehended  that  such  disorders  would 
greatly  injure  his  cause,  and  to  repress  them  and  at  the  same 
time  excite  the  zeal  of  the  royalists,  he  made  a  progress  in 
person  through  the  counties  of  York,  Leicester,  Derby,  Not- 
tingham, and  Lincoln,  everywhere  calling  the  nobility  together, 
thanking  them  for  their  fidelity,  and  exhorting  them  to  be 
orderly  and  prudent ;  more  active,  more  affable,  than  was  his 
usual  habit,  conversing  even  with  the  common  people,  and 


*  Clarendon,  i.,  1051. 

t  Clarendon,  i.,  1113 ;  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  1440. 

]6* 


t  May,  ii.,  109. 


186 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


187 


everywhere  proclaiming  his  firm  attachment  to  the  religion 
and  laws  of  the  country.*  These  gatherings,  these  speeches, 
the  gentry  forsaking  or  fortifying  their  houses,  the  citizens 
rebuilding  the  walls  of  their  towns,  the  roads  covered  with 
armed  travellers,  the  daily  exercise  of  the  militia,  all  pre- 
sented the  aspect  of  declared  war,  and  at  the  same  tinie,  at 
every  moment,  in  all  parts  of  the  kingdom,  gave  occasion  to 
it.  Blood  had  already  been  spilt  in  several  encounters,  more 
like  broils  than  battles.f  The  king,  by  two  fruitless  attempts 
on  Hull  and  Coventry,  had  already  given  parliament  occasion 
to  charge  him  as  the  aggressor.^  The  two  parties  equally 
dreaded  this  reproach  :  both  ready  to  risk  everything  to  main- 
tain their  rights,  both  trembling  at  having  to  answer  for  the 
future.  At  last,  on  the  23d  of  August,  Charles  resolved 
formally  to  call  his  subjects  to  arms,  by  erecting  the  royal 
standard  at  Nottingham.  At  six  in  the  evening,  on  the  sum- 
mit of  the  hill  which  overlooks  the  town,  surrounded  by  eight 
hundred  horse  and  a  small  body  of  militia,  he  first  caused  his 
proclamation  to  be  read.  The  herald  had  already  begun ;  a 
scruple  arose  in  the  king's  mind;  he  took  the  paper,  and 
slowly  corrected  several  passages  on  his  knee,  then  returned 
it  to  the  herald,  who  had  great  difficulty  in  reading  the  correc- 
tions. The  trumpets  sounded,  the  standard  was  brought 
forward,  bearing  this  motto :  "  Render  unto  Ciesar  the  things 
which  are  Caesar's ;"  but  no  one  knew  where  to  erect  it,  nor 
the  precise  form  of  the  ancient  ceremony  of  the  lord  paramount 
assembling  his  vassals.  The  sky  was  clouded,  the  wind  blew 
with  violence.  At  last,  they  planted  the  standard  in  the 
interior  of  the  castle,  on  the  top  of  a  tower,  after  the  example 
of  Richard  III.,  the  latest  known  precedent.  The  next  day 
the  wind  blew  it  down.  "  Why  did  you  put  it  there  ?"  asked 
the  king ;  "  it  should  have  been  set  up  in  an  open  place, 
where  every  one  might  have  approached  it,  not  in  a  prison ;" 
and  he  had  it  taken  out  of  the  castle,  just  outside  the  park. 
When  the  heralds  sought  to  plant  it  in  the  ground,  they  found 
that  the  soil  was  a  mere  rock.  With  their  daggers,  they  dug 
a  little  hole,  in  which  to  fix  the  staff,  but  it  would  not  stand, 
and  for  several  hours  they  were  obliged  to  hold  it  up  with 
their  hands.     The  spectators  withdrew,  their  minds  disturbed 

•  May,  ii.,  89.  t  Whitelocke,  62.  t  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  1456. 


by  evil  forebodings.*  The  king  passed  some  days  at  Notting- 
ham in  fruitless  expectation  that  the  country  would  answer 
his  appeal.  The  parliamentary  army  was  formmg  a  few 
leagues  off  at  Northampton,  and  already  numbered  several 
regiments.  "  If  they  choose  to  attempt  a  coup-de-main,"  said 
sir  Jacob  Aslley,  major-general  of  the  royal  army,  "I  would 
not  answer  for  his  majesty  not  being  taken  in  his  bed.f  Some 
members  of  the  council  urged  him  to  try  negotiation  once 
more.  "  What,  already,"  said  the  king,  "  even  before  the 
war  is  begun !"  They  insisted,  on  the  ground  of  his  weak- 
ness. Four  deputies:):  proceeded  to  London  (Aug.  25),  but 
returned  unsuccessful ;  one  of  them,  lord  Southampton,  had  not 
even  been  allowed  to  deliver  his  message  personally  to  the 
house.§  The  king  quitted  Nottingham  towards  the  middle  of 
September,  and,  notwithstanding  his  regret  at  removing 
further  from  London,  established  his  head  quarters  at  Shrews- 
bury,  understanding  that  the  western  counties  showed  more 

zeal  in  his  cause.  ,     /.  i  . 

The  earl  of  Essex  had  now  been  at  the  head  ot  his  army 
for  more  than  a  week ;  when  he  left  London  (Sept.  9),  an 
immense  crowd  accompanied  him  with  loud  acclamations, 
waving  in  the  air  orange  streamers,  the  color  of  his  house. 
Whoever  wore  any  other  color  was  suspected  and  insulted. || 
At  Northampton  he  found  nearly  twenty  thousand  men  assem- 
bled. A  parliamentary  committee  was  associated  with  him, 
which  accompanied  him  wherever  he  went,  but  acted  under 
his  judgment,  and  was  invested  with  no  counter-authority.lT 
His  instructions  were  to  transmit  a  petition  to  the  king  con- 
juring him  to  return  to  London,  and  if  he  refused  to  follow 
him  everywhere,  and  "by  battle  or  otherwise  rescue  his 
majesty,  his  two  sons  the  prince  of  Wales  and  the  duke  of 
Y^rk,  from  their  perfidious  councillors,  and  bring  them  back 
to  the  parliament."** 

•  Rushworth,  i.,  3,  783  ;  Clarendon,  i.,  1127;  Lilly,  Observ.  on  the 
Life  and  Death  of  King  Charles  ;  Mazeres,  Select  Tracts,  i. 

t  Clarendon,  ii.,  2.  .    x  ,      ^  i  j 

X  The  earls  of  Southampton  and  Dorset,  sir  John  Colepepper,  and 

sir  William  Uvedale. 

&  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  1458.  II  Whitelocke,  59. 

^  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  1573  ;  the  committee  was  composed  of  twelve  lords 
and  twenty-four  members  of  the  commons. 

•♦  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  1471. 


188 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION . 


189 


II 


il 


The  petition  was  not  even  presented ;  the  king  declared  he 
would  not  receive  one  from  the  hands  of  men  whom  he  had 
proclaimed  traitors  (Oct.  16).*    At  Shrewsbury  he  had  gained 
strength  and  confidence.     From  the  west  and  the  north  a 
great  number  of  recruits  had  at  length  arrived;    to  equip 
them   he  had  taken,  not  without  resistance,  the  arms  ot  the 
militia  of  several  counties ;  some  parliamentary  supplies,  des- 
tined  for  Ireland,  which  were  on  their  way  through  the  west 
to  embark  at  Chester,  had  fallen  into  his  hands.     The  cathohcs 
of  Shropshire  and  Staffordshire  had  advanced  him  5000/.; 
for  a  peerage,  a  gentleman  had  paid  him  6000/. ;  and  even 
from  London  his  party  had  secretly  sent  him  money.     About 
twelve  thousand  men  were  assembled  under  his  banners.t 
Prince  Rupert,  his  nephew,^  lately  arrived  from  Germany 
(beginning  of  Sept.),  at  the  head  of  the  cavalry,  overran  the 
neighboring   country,   already  odious   for  his  pillaging   and 
brulality,  but  at  the  same  time  already  dreaded  for  his  daring 
courage.     Essex  advanced  but  slowly,  as  if  rather  following 
than  desirous  of  overtaking  his  enemy.     On  the  23d  of  Sep- 
tember  he  arrived  at  Worcester,  at  a  few  leagues  only  trom 
the  king,  where  he  spent  three  weeks  without  making  any 
movement  whatever.     Emboldened  by  this  inaction,  by  the 
success  of  a  few  skirmishes,  and  the  improved  aspect  ot  his 
affairs,  Charles  resolved  to  advance  upon  London,  and  tinish 
the  war  at  one  blow  ;  and  he  was  already  on  his  third  day  s 
march  thither,  when  Essex  turned  back  after  him  to  defend 

the  parliament. 

The  greatest  agitation  prevailed  in  London;  none  there 
expected  this  so  sudden  peril  ;  the  parliamentary  party  were 
astonished,  the  royalists  began  to  put  themselves  in  motion, 
the  people  were  alarmed.  But  the  fear  of  the  people  is  easily 
turned  into  anger  ;  of  this  tendency  the  parliament  availed 
itself.  Firm  and  impassioned  in  action  as  in  speech,  it  imme- 
diately took  measures  of  defence  against  the  king,  and  o[  rigor 
against  the  malignants,  as  it  called  the  royalists.  All  who 
had  not  subscribed  to  the  voluntary  contributions,  were  taxed 
an  arbitrary  amount,  and  at  once  called  upon  to  pay  ;  those 

*  Pari   Hist    ii.    1484. 

t  Clarendon'  iu, passim  ;  Mrs.  Hutchin9on»s  Memoirs 
X  Second  son  of  Frederick  V.,  under  Palatine,  king  of  Bohemia,  and 
of  Elizabeth,  sister  to  Charles  I. 


who  refused  were  sent  to  prison ;  the  suspected  were  disarmed ; 
requisitions  of  every  kind  took  place ;  all  the  stables  in  the 
town  and  suburbs  were  visited,  and  the  horses  fit  for  service 
seized.  Fortifications  were  hastily  raised,  a  crowd  of  men, 
women  and  children  working  at  them  with  ardor ;  chains 
were  hung  across  the  streets,  barricades  erected ;  the  militia, 
kept  constantly  on  foot,  were  ready  to  march  at  a  moment's 

notice.* 

Suddenly,  on  the  morning  of  the  24th  of  October,  a  report 
arrived  that'a  great  battle  had  been  fought,  the  parliamentary 
army  totally  defeated,  many  officers  killed  and  made  prison- 
ers :  the  news  came  from  Uxbridge,  a  few  miles  from  Lon- 
don ;  left  there,  it  was  said,  by  sir  James  Ramsey,  a  Scotch- 
man, and  colonel  of  a  regiment  of  horse,  as  he  passed  through 
the  town  in  his  flight.  Nearly  at  the  same  moment,  other 
intelligence  came  of  a  very  different  character,  but  equally 
uncertain  :  Essex  had  gained  a  complete  victory  ;  the  rem- 
nant of  the  king's  army  was  in  full  retreat.  The  news  came 
from  people  who  had  been  met  on  the  Uxbridge  road,  gallop- 
ing with  all  speed  to  announce  this  wonderful  success  at  Lon- 
don. •]• 

The  parliament,  as  ignorant  of  the  real  truth  as  the  people, 
ordered  all  the  shops  to  be  closed,  the  militia  to  be  at  their 
posts,  the  citizens  to  wait  for  orders,  and  required  from  each 
of  its  members  a  personal  declaration  of  firm  adhesion  to  the 
earl  of  Essex  and  his  cause,  whatever  had  happened  or  might 
happen.it  It  was  not  till  the  next  day  (Oct.  26)  that  lord 
Wharton  and  Mr.  Strode  brought  from  the  army  an  official 
account  of  the  battle  and  its  results. 

It  had  been  Ibught  on  the  23d  of  October,  near  Keynton, 
in  Warwickshire,  at  the  foot  of  the  eminence  called  Edgehill ; 
not  till  he  reached  this  place,  after  a  march  of  ten  days,  dur- 
ing which  both  armies,  always  within  a  few  leagues  of  each 
other,  had  been  completely  ignorant  of  each  other's  move- 
ments, had  Essex  overtaken  the  king's  troops.  Though  he 
had  left  behind  him  part  of  his  artillery  and  several  regi- 
ments, amongst  others  that  of  Hampden,  he  resolved  upon  im- 
mediate attack,  and  the  king,  at  the  same  instant,  had  adopted 
the  same  resolution.      Both  were  eager  for  a  battle,  Essex  in 

♦  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  1478:  Whitelocke,  63. 

t  Whitelocke,  64.  X  Pari.  Hist.,  ii.,  1494. 


190 


HISTORY  OF   THB 


ENGLISH   KEVOLUTION. 


101 


order  to  save  London,  Charles  to  put  an  end  to  the  obstacles 
he  met  with  in  a  country  so  adverse  to  his  cause,  that  the 
blacksmiths  left  their  homes  to  avoid  shoeing  his  horses.  Com- 
mencine  about  two  in  the  afternoon,  the  conflict  was  fierce  y 
continued  till  the  evening  ;  the  parliamentary  cavalry,  weak- 
ened by  the  desertion  of  sir  Faithful  Fortescue  s  regiment, 
which,  at  the  moment  of  charging  went  over  in  a  body  to  the 
enemy,  were  put  to  flight  by  prince  Rupert ;  but  in  his  reck- 
less hot-headedness,  excited,  too,  by  the  desire  of  p.Uage,  he 
pursued  them  more  than  two  miles,  without  troubling  himself 
what  was  going  on  behind  him.     Stopped,  at  last,  by  Hamp- 
den's regiment  coming  up  with  the  artillery,  the  prince  re- 
turned towards  the  field  of  battle ;  and  there  found  the  royal 
infantry  broken  and  dispersed,  the  earl  of  Lindsey,  command- 
er-in-chief, mortally  wounded  and  a  prisoner,  and  the  king  s 
standard  in  the  hands  of  the  parliamentarians  ;  the  king  him- 
self had,  at  one  time,  been  left  almost  by  himself  and  in  great 
danger  of  being  taken.     Essex's  reserve  remamed  alone  in 
good  order  on  the  field.     Charles  and  his  nephew  in  vain  en- 
deavored to  persuade  their  squadrons  to  make  another  charge ; 
they  had  returned  all  in  confusion,  the  soldiers  seeking  their 
officers,  the    officers   their  soldiers,  the   horses  falling  wUh 
weariness:    nothing  could   be  done   with   them.      The  <wo 
armies  passed  the  night  on  the  field  of  battle    both  uneasy  as 
to  the  morrow,  though  both  claimed  the  victory.     The  par- 
liament had  lost  more  men,  the  king  more  distinguished  per- 
sons  and  officers.     At  daybreak,  Charles  surveyed  his  camp 
a  third  of  the  infantry  and  many  cavaliers  were  missing;  not 
that  all  of  them  had  perished,  but  the  cold,  the  want  of  pro- 
visions, the  violence  of  the  firet  shock,  had  disgusted  a  great 
number  of  the  volunteers,  and  they  had  dispersed.*      The 
king  wished  to  recommence  the  fight,  in  order  to  contmue  his 
march  upon  London  without  obstruction,  but  he  soon  saw  that 
this  was  out  of  the  question.     In  the  parliamentary  camp  the 
same  question  was  debated;  Hampden,  Holies,  Stapleton,  most 
of  the  militia  officers  and  members  of  the  commons,  conjured 
Essex  immediately  to  resume  the  attack :  "The  kmg,     they 
said,  "  is  unable  to  withstand  it ;  three  fresh  i-egiments  have 
joined  us,  and  he  will  fall  into  our  hands,  or  be  forced  to  ac- 

•  Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  33 ;  May,  ul  tup. 


4 


cept  our  conditions ;  the  speedy  termination  of  the  war  can 
alone  save  the  country  evils,  the  parliament  risks,  which  it  is 
imposvsible  now  to  foresee."  But  the  professional  men,  the 
officers  formed  in  the  continental  wars,  colonel  Dalbier  and 
others,  were  of  a  different  opinion  ;  according  to  them,  it  was 
already  a  great  thing  to  have  fought  so  glorious  a  battle  with 
mere  recruits ;  London  was  saved ;  but  its  safety  had  been 
dearly  bought ;  the  soldiers,  still  altogether  novices,  were  as- 
tounded and  dispirited ;  they  would  not  recommence  the  fight 
so  soon  with  a  good  heart ;  the  parliament  had  but  one  army, 
it  should  be  trained  to  war,  and  not  risk  all  at  once.  They 
spoke  with  authority  ;  Essex  adopted  their  advice,*  and  re- 
moved his  head-quarters  to  Warwick,  in  the  rear  of  the  royal 
army,  but  so  as  to  follow  its  movements.  A  few  days  after- 
wards, the  king,  advancing  towards  London,  though  without 
any  design  of  proceeding  thither  at  the  moment,  established 
his  head-quarters  at  Oxford,  of  all  the  large  towns  in  the  king- 
dom the  most  devoted  to  his  cause. 

At  London,  as  well  as  at  Oxford,  public  thanksgivings  were 
oifered  up  ;  for  parliament,  said  its  friends  to  one  another, 
had  gained  a  great  deliverance,  though  a  small  victory.  They 
soon,  however,  discovered  that  this  deliverance  was  not  a 
complete  one.f  Nearer  the  metropolis  than  the  army  of  Es- 
sex, the  king's  troops  spread  over  the  country ;  most  of  the 
deserters  had  rejoined  their _^egiments,  cured  of  their  first 
fears,  by  the  hope  of  booty.  Banbury,  Abingdon,  Henley, 
places  they  thought  sure,  opened  their  gates  to  the  king,  with- 
out striking  a  blow.  The  garrison  of  Reading,  commanded 
by  Henry  Martyn,  a  particular  friend  of  Cromwell's,  and  a 
morose,  snarling  demagogue,  basely  fled  at  the  mere  approach 
of  a  few  squadrons  ;:|:  the  king  transferred  his  head-quarters 
thither.  Prince  Rupert  scoured  and  pillaged  the  country,  up 
to  the  very  environs  of  London. §  The  city  got  alarmed  ;  in 
the  house  of  lords  pacific  suggestions  were  made  and  listened 
to  (Oct.  29). II  Essex  was  ordered  to  draw  nearer  with  his 
troops  ;  and,  meantime,  the  parliament  resolved  to  request  a 
safeguard  from  the  king,  for  six  deputies,  appointed  to  open  a 
negotiation.  He  refused  to  include  in  the  number  sir  John 
Evelyn,  whom  the  evening  before  (Nov.  2)  he  had  proclaim- 


*  Whitelocke,  64. 
§  Whitelocke,  64. 


t  lb.  X  Clarendon,  ii.,  104. 

II  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  1. 


192 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


193 


I! 


ed  a  traitor.*     The  commons  withdrew  their  proposal :  Essex 
had  arrived  (Nov.   7).     The  lord  mayor  called  a  general 
meeting  of  citizens  at  Guildhall  (Nov.  8).     Two  members  of 
parliament,  lord  Brook  and  sir  Harry  Vane,  attended,  to  ex- 
cite their  courage,  and  exhort  them  to  march  out  and  range 
themselves  under  the  general's  standard:  "For  he  has  ob- 
tained,"  said  lord  Brook,  "the  greatest  victory  that  was  ever 
gotten  ;  near  two  thousand  (I  love  to  speak  with  the  least)  on 
their  side  slain,  and  I  am  confident  not  a  hundred  on  our  side, 
unless  you  will  take  in  women,  children,  carmen,  and  dogs, 
for  they  slew  the  very  dogs  and  all  ; — if  you  take  in  women, 
children,  carmen,  and  dogs,  then  they  slew  about  two  hun- 
dred.     The  general's  resolution  is  to  go  out  to-morrow,  and 
do  again  as  much  as  he  hath  done ;  all  this  is  for  your  sakes ; 
for  himself,  he  can  be  a  freeman,  he  can  be  a  gentleman,  he 
can  be  a  great  man  ;  he  can  go  where  he  will ;  therefore  it 
is  only  for  your  sakes  he  is  resolved  to  go  out  to-morrow. 
When  you  hear  the  drums  beat  {hr  it  is  resolved  the  drums 
shall  beat  to-morrow),  say  not,  I  beseech  you,  I  am  not  of  the 
trained  band,  nor  this,  nor  that,  nor  the  other,  but  doubt  not 
to  go  out  to  the  work,  and  fight  courageously,  and  this  shall 
be  the  day  of  your  deliverance. "f     The  hall  rang  with  accla- 
mations ;  but  terror  was  not  dispelled.     The  king,  informed 
by  his  partisans  of  everything  that  passed,  had  hastened  his 
march ;    he  was  at  Colnbrook,   fifteen  miles   from   London. 
The    parliament  submitted  to   send    only   five    deputies,    no 
longer  insisting  on  the  admission  of  Evelyn.     Charles  receiv- 
ed them  well  (Nov.  11),  and  said  that  in  all  places,  even  at 
the  gates  of  the  city,  he  would  be  ready  to  treat.J    When  his 
answer  was  read  in  the  upper  house  (Nov.  12),  Essex  rose 
and  inquired  what  he  was  to  do,  whether  he  was  to  continue 
or  suspend   hostilities.     He  was  ordered  to  suspend  them  ; 
and  sir  Peter  Killigrew  departed  to  treat  for  an  armistice. 
On  his  arrival  at  Brentford,  seven  miles  from  London,  he 
found  hostilities  renewed.      Notwithstanding  the  negotiation, 
the  king  had  continued  to  advance,  and  had  fallen  unawares 
on  Holles's  regiment,  which  was  quartered  at  Brentford,  in 
the  hope  of  easily  crushing  it  and  so  entering  suddenly  into 
the  city.     But  the  valor  of  this  small  corps  gave  time  for  the 

♦  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  2;  Clarendon,  ut  sup.  f  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  6. 

X  Rushworth,  ii.,  58;  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  9. 


regiments  of  Hampden  and  lord  Brook,  in  cantonment  at  a 
short  distance,  to  come  up,  and  these,  with  Holies,  sustained 
for  several  hours  the  attack  of  the  whole  of  the  royal  army. 
The  cannonading  was  heard  in  London,  but  not  understood. 
The  moment,  however,  that  Essex,  who  was  in  the  house  of 
lords  at  the  time,  was  informed  of  it,  he  mounted  his  horse, 
and  set  off  with  what  forces  he  could  muster,  to  relieve  his 
men.  The  battle  was  over  before  he  arrived;  the  parlia- 
mentary troops  engaged,  after  suffering  considerable  loss,  had 
retired  in  great  disorder  ;  the  king  occupied  Brentford,  but 
had  stopped  there,  and  did  not  seem  disposed  to  advance 
further.* 

London  was  indignant,  and   its    indignation  was    all    the 
greater  from  being  combined  with  redoubled  fears.     Nothing 
was  talked  of  but  the  king's  perfidy,  and  his  cruelty,  for,  it 
was  said,  he  had  intended  to  take  the  city  by  storm  during 
the  night,   and  give  up  its    inhabitants,  their  families,  their 
property,  to  his  rapacious    and    licentious  cavaliers.f     The 
warmest  advocates  for  war  bitterly  complained  that  he  should 
bring  it  thus  even  under  their  very  walls,  and  expose  to  such 
dangers  so  many  thousands  of  his  peaceable  subjects.     The 
parliament  promptly    turned    this    feeling  to  advantage.     It 
invited  the  apprentices  to  enlist,  promising  that  the  time  of 
their  service  should  be  reckoned  as  part  of  their  apprentice- 
ship ;jf.   the   city  offered  four  thousand  men,  taken  from  its 
militia,  and  appointed  Skipnon  to  command  them,     "  Come, 
my  boys,  my  brave  boys,"  he  said,  as  he  put  himself  at  their 
head,  "  let  us  pray  heartily  and  fight  heartily.     I  will  run  the 
same  fortunes  and  hazards  with  you.     Remember  the  cause 
IS  for  God,  and  for  the  defence  of  yourselves,  your  wives  and 
children.     Come,  my  honest  and   brave  boys,  pray  heartily 
and  fight  heartily,  and  God  will  bless  us."§     During  one 
whole  day  and  night,  these  levies  of  militia  and  volunteers 
were  successively  filing  out  of  London  to  join  the  army ;  and 
two  days  after  the  battle  of  Brentford  (Nov.  14),  Essex,  ac- 
companied by  most  of  the  members  of  both  houses,  and  a  crowd 
of  spectators,  reviewed  twenty-four  thousand  men,  disposed 
in  battle  array  on  Turnham-green,  less  than  a  nille  from  the 
king's  outposts. 


•May,  iii.,  32. 
t  Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  53. 

17 


t  Whitelocke,  p.  04. 

§  Whitelocke,  65;  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  14. 


■   1 


II 


194 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


195 


Here  the  discussion,  which  had  commenced  in  the  general  s 
council  after  the  battle  of  Edgehill,  was  renewed      Hampden 
and  his  friends  eagerly  demanded  that  an  attack  should  at 
once    be    made.     Never   agam,  they  said,  would   they  find 
the  people  at  once  so  determined,  so  imperiously  necessitated 
to  conquer.     For  a  moment  their  advice  prevailed,  and  some 
movements  of  the  troops  were  ordered  in  consequence.     But 
Sssex  gave  way  most  reluctantly,  the  old  officers  pei;severing 
in  their  opposition.     An  incident  happened  to  strengthen  that 
opposition      One  day,  when  the  army  was  drawn  up  in  battle 
array  in  front  of  that  of  the  king,  whether  m  consequence  of 
the  royal  troops  appearing  to  make  a  demonstration  of  attack 
or  from  some  other  cause,  two  or  three  hundred  spectators 
who  had  come  from  London  on  horseback,  suddenly  started 
off  at  full   gallop  towards  town:   at  the  mere  sight  /)i  this 
the  courage  of  the    parliamentary  army  seemed    altogether 
shaken-lesponding  expressions  circulated,  and  many  soldiers 
appeared  disused  to  quit  their  colors  and  also  return  home. 
When  the  misconception  was  cleared  up,  however  faces    e- 
gained  their  serenity,  and  the  ranks  closed  up  firmly  ;  abun- 
dance  of  provisions,  wine,  tobacco,  and  so  on,  sent  by  the 
women  of  the  city  to  their  sons  and  husbands,  brought  back 
TonTdence  and  gaiety  to  the  camp.     But  Essex   decid^^^^^^ 
refused  to  hazard  all  on  the  strength  of  the  public  enthusiasm  , 
he  recalled  the  regiments  which  had  advanced,  and  took  up 
on  all  sides  a  defensive  position  ;  and  the  king  wlio  on  his 
part  dreaded  an  attack,  having  no  more  ammunition,  effected 
his  retreat  without  obstacle,  first  to  Reading,  and  then  to  Ox- 
ford,  where  he  took  up  his  winter  quarters.  ^ 

So  much  hesitation  and  delay,  against  which  the  leaders  of 
parliament  struggled  in  vain,  had  more  powerful  causes  than 
the  wavering  attitude  of  the  soldiers,  or  the  prudence  of  he 
general.  Even  the  city  was  full  of  doubts  and  divisions  ;  the 
peace-party  loudly  asserted  its  principles  there,  fortified  as  it 
now  was  by  the  accession,  especially  among  the  higher  clas 
of  citizens  of  many  who  had  consented  to  war  with  fear  and 
tZZny  only  because  they  did  not  know  how  to  preven 
it  Already  petitions,  while  denouncing  as  vehemently  as  ever 
Lery  andlbsolute  power,  called  upon  parliament  to  restore 
peace  (Dec.   19).t     These  petitions  were  suppressed,   their 

*  Whitelocke,  ut  sup. ;  Ludlow,  Mem..  26.       t  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  43 


authors  menaced,  but  others  were  sent  from  the  country,  and 
addressed  to  the  lords,  who  were  thought  better  disposed  to 
receive  them  (Dec.  22).*     Opposite  petitions  were  not  want- 
mg :  on  the  one  hand,  the  magistrates  and  common  council 
of  the  city,  renewed  by  recent  elections,  on  the  other,  the 
lower  c  asses  of  citizens  and  the  populace,  were  devoted  to  the 
boldest  leaders  of  the  commons,  and  ardently  embraced  every 
opportunity  to  excite  or  uphold  them.     A  tradesman  named 
bhute,  came  almost  every  day  (Nov.  13  and  21,  Dec.  9,  &c.)t 
to  the  bar  of  the  house  of  commons,  followed  by  a  numerous 
tram,  and  demanding,  in  the  name  of  "  the  pious  and  move- 
ment  party,"  that   war    should    be    carried    on  with  vigor 
He  was  received  with  cordiality,  and  thanked  for  his  ze^l  • 
but  when  his  language  became  too  imperious,  and  he  spoke 
too  insolently  of  the  lords  and  officers  of  the  army,  the  house 
felt  obliged  to  reprimand  him  (Dec.  11)4  ^r  no  one  dared  to 
say  or  even  think  that  the  commons  could  separate  from  the 
lords  on  their  side,  or  triumph  without   their   support.     To 
give  the  friends  of  peace  some  show  of  satisfaction,  it  was 
arranged  that  the  common  council   should  officially  petition 
for  peace,  not  from  the  parliament,  but  from  the  king  him- 
self ;  the  embarrassment  of  answering  such  an  appeal  would 
thus  fall  upon  Charles,  and  they  were  sure  the  answer  given 
by  him  would  displease  the  citizens.^     Accordingly,  with  the 
consent  of  the  houses,  a  deputation  from  the  common  council 
proceeded  to  Oxford  (Jan.  2,  1643).     The  king  smiled  when 
they  urged  him  to  return  to  London,  promising  to  suppress  all 
riots :  "  You  cannot  maintain  peace  there  by  yourselves,"  said 
he  ;  and  sent  back  the  deputies  with  his  answer,  accompanied 
by  a  gentleman  whom  he  charged  to  read  it  in  his  name  to 
the  assembled  citizens.     An  immense  multitude  collected  at 
Cjuildhall  to  hear  it  (Jan.  13);  lord  Manchester  and  Pym 
were  present,  ready  to  repel,  in  the  name  of  parliament,  the 
charges  which  might  be  made  by  the  king.     At  the  sight  of 
this  noisy  multitude,  the  king's  commissioner  was  frightened, 
and  wished  to  be  excused  from  reading  the  letter  himself, 
alleging  the  weakness  of  hi«  voice.     Imperatively  summoned 
to  discharge  his  duty,  he  obeyed,  and  was  even  forced  to  read 
the  answer  twice,  in  two  different  halls,  that  every  one  might 

*  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  4C.         f  lb.,  12,  &c.         X  lb.,  38.  §  lb.,  38. 


Jl' 


tut ' 


196 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


197 


hear  it.  After  the  second  reading,  a  few  royalists,  who  had 
doubtingly  stationed  themselves  near  the  door,  hazarded  some 
cheers,  at  once  drowned  by  violent  murmurs.  The  kmg's 
letter  was  long  and  bitter,  full  of  recriminations,  which  gave 
no  indication  of  a  wish  for  peace.  Pym  and  lord  Manchester 
replied  ;  the  shout,  "  we  will  live  and  die  with  them,"  arose 
from  the  multitude,  and  all  petitions  for  peace  were  for  a  time 
relinquished.*  The  attempts  of  the  royal  party  at  reconci- 
liation had  never  any  better  result ;  but  they  were  constantly 
renewed,  and  kept  Westminster,  as  well  as  the  city,  in  a  con- 
stant state  of  anxious  suspense ;  no  one,  as  yet,  thought  of 
putting  an  effectual  termination  to  them,  by  those  last  excesses 
of  tyranny  which  give  to  parties  a  few  days  of  unlimited 
power,  soon  punished  by  long  continued  reverses.  The  par- 
liament, intent  upon  struggling  against  this  inward  evil,  could 
not  outwardly  display  its  full  energy,  nor  direct  it  freely  to 
other  conflicts.  . 

In  the  counties  it  was  otherwise  ;  there  nothmg  stood  m 
the  way  of  parties,  no  general  and  decisive  responsibility  was 
attached  to  their  acts  ;  and  political  necessities  and  calcula- 
tions  neither  regulated  nor  intimidated  their  passions.     Thus, 
while  in  the  neighborhood  of  London  the  war  between  the 
parliament  and  the  king  seemed  to  languish,  elsewhere,  be- 
tween the  parliamentarians  and  royalists,  it  broke  forth  spon- 
taneous  and  energetic,  openly  carried  on   in  each  locality  by 
the    inhabitants  on    their  own  account,   and   almost  without 
attention  to  what  was  passing  between  Oxford  and  the  me- 
tropolis.     Scarce  six  months  had  elapsed,  before  the  country 
•   was  covered  with  warlike  confederations,  freely  entered  into, 
either  in  the  interior  of  particular  counties  by  men  holding 
the  same  opinions,  or  between  neighboring  counties,  to  sup- 
port their   common   cause.     As   a   preliminary   step,    these 
confederations  requested  and  received  from  the  king  or  the 
parliament,  according  to  their  views,  commissions  for  their 
leaders,  and  power  to  levy  soldiers,  impose 'taxes,  and  adopt 
all  such  measures  as  they  considered  necessary  to  insure  suc- 
cess.    After  this,  they  acted  separately,  and  almost  at  their 
own  discretion,  except  the  occasionally  sending  an  account  to 
Oxford  or  London  of  their  situation,  their  proceedings,  and 

*  Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  110  ;  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  49. 


soliciting,  on  occasion,  assistance  or  advice.*     In  default  of 
these  local  leagues,  in  many  cases  concurrently  with  them, 
some  rich  and  influential  individual  levied  a  small  body  of 
men    and   carried   on   partisan   warfare,   sometimes   in   his 
own   immediate  neighborhood,   sometimes  at   a   greater  dis- 
tance, according  to  his  courage,  his  strength,  or  the  necessity 
of  the  case.f     In  other  places,  if  more  pacific  feelings  pre- 
vailed for  awhile,  they  were  manifested  with  the  same  inde- 
pendence ;  in  Yorkshire  and  Cheshire,  the  two  parties  con- 
sidering themselves  nearly  equal,  and  more  likely  merely  to 
damage  each  other  than  for  either  to  obtain  the  victory,  con- 
cluded a  regular  treaty  of  neutrality  ;J  and  nearly  at  the 
same  time,  at  the  opposite  extremity  of  England,  the  counties 
of  Devon  and  Cornwall   solemnly  promised  each  other,  by 
commissioners,  to  remain  at  peace,  and  to  let  the  king  and  the 
parliament  fight  the  matter  out  as  they  might  (Feb.,  1643).§ 
But  both  the  parliament  and  the  king  strongly  censured  these 
conventions, II  and  even  those  who  had  entered  into  them  had 
presumed  too  much  on  their  mutual  forbearance.     They  were 
ere  long  as  fiercely  engaged  in  hostilities  as  the  rest  of  their 
countrymen.     In    the    eastern,    midland,    and    south-eastern 
counties,  the  most  populous  and  wealthy,  the  parliamentary 
party    was  strongest;    in  those   of  the  north,  the  west,  and 
south-west,  the  preponderance  belonged  to  the  king;  in  the 
latter,  landed  property  was  less  divided,  industry  less  active, 
the  higher  nobility  more  influential,  and  the  roman-catholic 
religion  had  more  adherents.     But  in  both  these  portions  of 
the  kingdom,  particularly  in  that  where  the  king's  interest 
prevailed,  the  weakest  party  was  still  strong  enough  to  keep 
its  enemies  in  check  ;   and  the  parliament  had  this  advantage, 
that  the  counties  devoted  to  its  cause,  nearly  all  contiguous 

*  The  two  principal  confederacies  were,  in  the  north,  the  counties 
of  Durham,  Northumberland,  Cumberland,  and  Westmoreland,  for  the 
royal  cause ;  and  in  the  east,  the  counties  of  Norfolk,  Suffolk,  Cam- 
bridge, Huntingdon,  Bedford,  Essex,  Lincoln,  and  Hertford  for  the 
parliament.  There  were  several  others,  as  in  the  centre,  that  of  the 
counties  of  Northampton,  Warwick,  Leicester,  Derby,  and  Stafford  for 
the  parliament :  in  the  south-east,  that  of  the  counties  of  Dorset,  So- 
merset, Devon,  and  Cornwall,  for  the  king,  &c. ;  Rushworth,  ii.,  3, 
66,  &c. 

t  See  Mrs.  Hutchinson's  Memoirs,  and  those  of  Ludlow. 

t  Clarendon,  ii.,  206.  §  lb.,  203.  |1  lb.,  240. 

17* 


^ 


l|i 


I 


"!  ! 


198 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


and  compact,  formed  round  London  a  foiTnidable  girdle  of 
defence  ;  while  the  royalist  counties,  spreadmg  from  the  south- 
west  to  the  north-east,  from  the  Land's-end  to  the  extremity 
of  Durham,  in  a  long  and  narrow  line,  broken  at  intervals  by 
districts  holding  opposite  views,  were  much  less  united  among 
themselves,  had  a  difficulty  in  maintaining  correspondence 
could  rarely  act  in  concert,  and  only  protected  the  rear  ot 
Charles's  head-quarters  at  Oxford,  a  place  entirely  royalist, 
but  too  far  advanced  in,  almost  isolated  amidst,  the  enemy  s 

^^  A^^r  of  this  kind,  in  the  heart  of  winter,  and  in  which  the 
two  principal    armies   remained   nearly  inactive,  could   not 
brin-  about  prompt  or  decisive  results.      Everywhere  and 
eveiy  day,  there  were  sudden  and  brief  expeditions,  small 
places  by  turns  taken  and  lost,  surprises,  skirmishes,  wherein 
the  two  parties  were  alternately  winners  and  losers  to  about 
the  same  extent.*     The  citizens  were  becoming  disciplined 
and  experienced,  though  they  were  not  as  yet  regular  soldiers. 
Some  leaders  began  to  distinguish  themselves  by  their  courage, 
their  talents,  or  their  good  fortune,  but  none  were  known  to 
the  whole  nation  ;  their  influence  was  as  local  as  their  ex- 
ploits.     Besides,  notwithstanding  the  ardor  of  men  s  passions, 
the  conduct  of  the  parUes  to  each  other  was  upon  the  whole 
gentlemanly  and  forbearing  ;  though  the  aristocracy  was  no 
lortger-'Ttr  thg  asutiidaiit^  -and  the  new  power  of  the  commons 
was  the  true  cause  of  the  national  movement,  it  was  against 
the  king  and  his  tyranny  that  the  country  had  risen  ;  the  di  - 
ferent  classes  of  society  were  not  at  war,  nor  wished  to  cr^h 
each  other,  either  in  self-defence  or  in  the  assertion  of  liberty. 
0(rB8ih  sides,  and  in  most  places,  command  was  m  tlie  Tiands 
of  men  of  nearly  trqual  condition,  formed  to  the  same  habits, 
and  capable  of  understanding  and  respecting  each  other,  even 
while  they  fought.     Licentious,  thoughtless,  and  rapacious, 
still  the  cavaliers  were  not  ferocious  ;  and  the  presbyterians 
retained,  amidst  their  harsh  fanaticism,  a  r^specL^he  laws, 
and  for  humanity,  of  which  the  history  of  civil  discord  pre- 
sen"tnew  examples.     Relations^  neighbors,  ^i^nds,  engaged 
under  different  standanisj'aiJliot  entirely  breaTHSff  all  con- 
nexionTand  lent  each  othw  assistance  in  case  of  need  ;  thougn 

*  See  Mrs.  Hutchinson's  Memoirs,  and  those  of  Ludlow,  and  May's 
Hist. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


199 


they  met  opposed  in  arms,  they  observed  mutual  courtesy,  as 
men  who  had  recently  lived  together  in  peace,  and  who  were 
not  separated  for  ever.*  Prisoners  were  usually  dismissed, 
upon  the  simple  promise  not  to  serve  again  :  "if  If  happiSriSd 
that  they  were  suffered  to  depart  without  their  necessities 
having  been  properly  cared  for,  even  if  the  king  had  seen 
them  file  off*  before  him  with  an  air  of  cold  indifference,  it  was 
regarded  as  a  serious  offence  ;-\  and  the  cruel  brutality  of 
prince  Rupert  caused  so  much  surprise  and  created  so  much 
indignation,  that  even  the  multitude  spoke  of  him  with  aver- 
sion and  disgust,  as  of  a  rude,  uncivilized  foreigner.  Thus 
the  war,  though  everywhere  in  full  operation,  remained  free 
from  that  furious  rage  which  hastens  it  to  a  close  ;  both  par- 
ties, openly  and  earnestly  engaged  in  it,  seemed  afraid  of 
striking  each  other  too  hard  ;  and  there  was  fighting  every 
day  in  every  part  of  the  kingdom,  without  the  course  of  events 
becoming  more  rapid,  the  parliament  or  the  king  ceasing  to 
lose  their  time  in  trivial  debates  and  vain  conferences. 

Towards  the  middle  of  February,  however,  the  queen's  re- 
turn gave  an  impulse  to  affairs.  During  the  year  and  up- 
wards she  had  been  in  Holland,  she  had  evinced,  in  the  nego- 
tiations of  aid,  very  uncommon  address  and  activity.  The 
aristocratic  party  was  then  uppermost  in  the  States  ;  the 
stadtholder,  her  son-in-law,  seconded  her  with  all  his  power. 
Confident  and  adventurous  when  no  pressing  danger  disturbed 
her  mind,  eminently  gracious  and  insinuating  in  her  manner 
towards  those  of  whom  she  stood  in  need,  she  found  means  to 
interest  in  her  cause  this  reserved  and  republican  people.  In 
vain  did  the  parliament  send  over  (September)  to  the  Hague, 
Mr.  Walter  Strickland,  as  ambassador,  to  remind  the  States 
of  the  services  which  the  English  people  had  formerly  ren- 
dered to  the  liberties  of  the  United  Provinces,  and  to  require, 
at  least,  a  strict  neutrality.  Strickland,  after  waiting  a  long 
time  for  an  audience,  obtained,  with  great  difficulty,  some 
equivocal  declaration  ;  the  people  openly  manifested  their  ill 
will  towards  him,  and  the  queen  continued,  without  interrup- 
tion, the  preparations  for  her  departure.:]:  Four  vessels  laden 
with  arms,  ammunition,  officers,  and  soldiers,  accompanied 

*  Hutchinson's  Memoirs  ;  Ludlow's  Memoirs. 

t  Lilly,  Observ.  on  the  Life  of  Kine  Charles.     Whitelocke,  66. 

t  Rushworth,  ii.,  3, 157;  Harris'  Life  of  Cromwell,  250. 


200 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


201 


her,   and  admiral  Batten,  whom  parliament  had  ordered  to 
intercept  the  convoy,  did  not  overtake  them  tdl  they  were  dis- 
embarking  at  Burlington  (Feb.  22,  1643)      Batten  cannonad- 
ed  the  place  :  the  queen  was  lodged  on  the  quay  y  the  balls 
fell  upon  her  house,  and  even  into  the  room  where  she  was 
sleeping ;    she    hastily  got   up,   and  fled    into   the    country 
where  she  passed  some  hours  hid,  it  is  said,  under  a  bank.* 
Soon  the  whole  country  was  full  of  reports  about  her  courage 
and  her  perils.     Lord  Newcastle  came  with  a  body  of  troops 
to  escort  her  to  York  ;  the  gentry  surrounded  her  with  trans- 
port,  full  of  mdignation  against  the  traitor  Batten,  who  had, 
they  insisted,  designedly  pointed  his  cannon  at  the  house  m 
which  she  lodged  ;  a  host  of  catholics  hastened  to  serve  under 
her  banner.     Iri  vain  was  this  infraction  of  the  lau-s  of  the 
kingdom  warmly  denounced  to  the  king  and  to  the  parliament ; 
in  vain,  with  the  hope  of  degrading  or  intimidating  lord  New- 
castle,  the  name  the  army  of  the  papists  and  of  tU  ^ueenf  was 
given  to  his  army.     Having  long  since  received  formal  author, 
ity  from  the  king,^:  he  contemptuously  spurned  all  these  com- 
plaints,  and  retained  his.  new  soldiers.     He  soon  found  him- 
self at  the  head  of  a  considerable  force.     The  queen  conti- 
nued  to  reside  at  York,  less  anxious  to  rejoin  her  husband,  than 
delighted  to  command  alone,  and  to  preside  without  restrain 
over  all  the  projects  with  which  her  court  was  already  in  lull 
agitation.     Hamilton  and  Montrose  came  from   Scotland  to 
consult  with  her  on  the  means  of  engaging  that  kingdom  in 
the  king's  cause  ;  Hamilton,  always  conciliatory  and  cautious, 
maintained  that  it  was  possible,  notwithstanding  the  decidedly 
hostile  influence  of  the  marquis  of  Argyle,  to  gam  over  the 
Scottish    parliament.      Montrose,  presumptuous    and  daring, 
urged  that  under  the  command  of  the  earl  of  Antrim,  a  power- 
ful nobleman  of  the  north  of  Ireland,  who  had  a  so  come  to 
York  to  ofler  his  services,  a  body  of  Irish  should  land  on  the 
coast  of  Scotland,  and,  joining  the  highlanders  who  were  to  be 
raised,  massacre  the  presbyterian  chiefs ;  and  he  oflered  him- 
self  to  carry  out  as  well  as  arrange  the  project.^     The  queen 
lent  an  ear  to  every  suggestion,  secretly   favoring  the  most 
violent,   but  careful  to  propitiate    all  who  came  to  render 

:  ^r  ^r '  " V  lul '  ""'"'"^  ''  ""''•  ''  Tse? AppencUx!  vii. 
t  Clarendon,  M^  »t//>.  „  .„.  ,    t    **        •     -^a 

§Ru3hworth,  ii.,  3,  353  ;  BaiUie's  Letters,  i.,  304. 


homage  to  her  power.  She  at  the  same  time,  and  with  great 
success,  entered  into  secret  negotiations  with  some  of  the  par- 
liamentary leaders,  already  disgusted  with  their  party,  or  in- 
fluenced by  her  proximity  ;  sir  Hugh  Cholmondley,  governor 
of  Scarborough,  who  a  month  before  had  defeated  a  body  of 
royalists,  promised  (end  of  March)  to  deliver  that  town  into  her 
hands ;  even  sir  John  Hotham  did  not  seem  indisposed  to  open 
to  her  the  gates  of  Hull,  which  before  the  breaking  out  of  the 
war  he  had  so  rudely  shut  against  the  king.  In  short,  through- 
out the  north,  the  royalists  were  full  of  ardor  and  hope  ;  the 
parliamentarians,  anxious  and  silent,  wrote  letter  upon  letter 
to  London  to  demand  advice  or  assistance. 

The  parliament  itself  felt  troubled  ;  at  the  commencement 
of  the  war,  it  had  flattered  itself  with  the  expectation  of  speedy 
success  ;  the  increase  of  taxes  excited  murmurs  ;*  there  were 
rumors  of  conspiracies  in  the  city  ;  notwithstanding  the  ab- 
sence of  many  members  friendly  to  peace,  every  time  peace 
was  spoken  of,  it  found,  even  in  the  commons,  numerous  advo- 
cates.    Negotiations  were  not  quite  broken  ofl*;  it  was  pro- 
posed to  renew  them,  and  as  a  proof  of  good  faith  to  disband 
the  armies  on  both  sides,  as  soon  as  a  treaty  should  be  com- 
menced.    Sir  Benjamin  Rudyard  supported  the  motion  :  "  I 
have  long  and  thoughtfully  expected,"  said  he,  "  that  the  cup 
of  trembling  which  hath  gone  round  about  us  to  other  nations, 
would  at  length  come  in  amongst  us ;  it  is  now  come  at  last, 
and  we   may  drink   the  dregs  of  it,  the  worst ;  which  God 
avert !     There  is  yet  some  comfort  left,  that  our  miseries  are 
not  likely  to  last  long  ;  for  we  cannot  fight  here  as  they  do  in 
Germany,  in  that  great,  large,  vast  continent,  where,  although 
there  be  war  in  some  parts  of  it,  yet  there  are  many  other  re- 
mote quiet  places  for  trade  and  tillage  to  support  in.     We 
must  fight  as  in  a  cockpit,  we  are  surrounded  with  the  sea  ; 
we  have  no  stronger  holds  than  our  own  skulls  and  our  own 
ribs  to  keep  out  enemies  -,  so  that  the  whole  kingdom  will  sud- 
denly be  but  one  flame.     It  hath  been  said  in  this  house,  that 
we  are  bound  in  conscience  to  punish  the  shedding  of  inno- 
cent blood  ;  but,  sir,  who  shall  be  answerable  for  all  the  inno- 
cent blood  which  shall  be  spilt  hereafter,  if  we  do  not  endeavor 

*  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  77  ;  the  new  taxes  imposed  on  the  city  of  London 
amounted  to  10,000/.  a  week,  those  on  the  whole  kingdom  to  33,518/., 
a  week  ;  Clarendon,  ii.,  255. 


lU 


;  I 


202 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


a  peace  by  a  speedy  treaty  ?  Certainly  C.od  is  as  much  to  be 
trusted  in  a  treaty 'as  in  war;  it  is  he  that  gives  wisdom  to 
treat  as  well  as  courage  to  fight,  and  success  to  both,  8^  it 
pleaseth  him.  Blood  is  a  crying  sin,  it  po  lutes  a  land  Why 
ILuU  we  defile  this  land  any  longer?';*  The  motion  was 
rejected  (Feb.  17),t  but  only  by  a  majority  of  three,  and  the 
words  of  Rudyard  were  in  the  mouths  of  many  well-disposed 
persons.  The  leaders  of  the  commons  secretly  shuddered  a 
Ling  themselves  driven  to  solicit  a  peace,  mipossible  except 
on  conditions  which  would  render  it  fatal  to  them.  Yet  they 
cave  way;  for  few,«ven  among  their  friends,  were  so  pas- 
lionately  ardent  in  the  matter  as  not  to  desire  to  avoid  such 
evils,  if  possible  ;  and  on  the  20th  of  March  after  some  pre- 
liminary negotiations,  five  commissioners^:  departed  for  Ox- 
ford, charged  to  discuss  for  twenty  days,  first,  a  suspension  ol 

arms,  and  then  a  treaty.  ,    .     •  . 

They  were  well  received  by  the  king  ;  their  intercourse 
with  the  court  was  dignified  and  imposing  ;  the  earl  of  Nor- 
thumberland, president  of  the  committee,  displayed  great  mag- 
nificence :  he  had   brought  with  him   all  his  household    his 
plate,  his  wine  ;  provisions  were  regularly  sent  him  from  Lon- 
don :  the  royalists  visited  and  dined  with  h.m :  the  king  even 
deigned  to  accept  from  him  a  few  presents  for  his  own  table.§ 
Among  the  earl's  coadjutors,  plain  members  of  the  commons 
there  were  several  who  took  infinite  pleasure  in  appearing  at 
Oxford  with  so  much  parade.     But  "'hen  the  negotiation  be- 
gan, these  brilliant  demonstrations  were  without  effect ,  neither 
fhe  parliament  nor  the  king  could  accept  each  other  s  condiu 
tions,  for  they  were  the   same   as  those  which   had  been  so 
haughtily  rejected  before  the  war  commenced,  and  would  have 
surrendered  one  or  the  other  party  without  defence  to  its  ad- 
versaries.     One   evening   the   parliamentary   commissioners 
flattered  themselves  they  had  at  last  obtained  from  the  king, 
probably  on  the  subject  of  the  militia,  a  c°n<=e^'°n  °[XTd 
importance  ;  after  a  long  conference,  he  had  appeared  to  yield, 

;  Tht"were'iwo'divisio„s  i"  Jhe  house ;  in  the  fi^t  the  motion 
wi  only  carried  by  76  to  73 ;  in  the  second,  by  S6  to  83  ,  Pari.  Hist., 

"'t  The  earl  of  Northumberland,  sir  John  Holland,  sjr  William  Ar- 
myn  Wiiu"m  Pierpoint,  and  Bulstrode  Whitelocke.     Wh.telocke.  66. 
§  lb.,  68. 


( 


ENGLISH  REVOLUTION. 


203 


and  was  to  give  them  a  written  answer  the  next  morning.     To 
their  great  surprise,  it  was  quite  different  from  what  had  been 
agreed  upon  ;  and  they  learned  that  before  the  king  went  to 
bed,  the  gentlemen  of  the  bed-chamber,  the  confidants  of  the 
queen,  had,  in  the  absence  of  his  ministers,  induced  him  to 
change   his  resolution.*     "  If,  at  least,  the  king,"  said  Mr. 
Pierpomt,  one  of  the  commissioners,  to  the  council,  "  would 
only  treat  with  favor  some  of  the  lords  attached  to  parliament 
their  influence  might  serve  him."     But  Charles,  rancorous  and 
haughty  with  reference  to  his  courtiers  as  well  as  to  his  people, 
would   scarcely  even  listen  to  a  suggestion  put  forward  one 
day  of  restormg  to  the  earl  of  Northumberland  the  office  of 
lord  high   admiral ;  intrigues  of   personal    interest  were  as 
futile  as  their  success  would  have  been.f     The  king,  as  well 
as  the  leaders  of  the  commons,  had  no  wish  for  peace  ;  he  had 
promised  the  queen  that  he  would  never  agree  to  it  without 
her  consent ;  and  she  wrote  to  him  from  York  to  dissuade  him 
from  It,  already  displeased  that  negotiations  should  have  been 
opened  in  her  absence,  and  declaring  to  her  husband  that  she 
would  leave  England  if  she  did  not  officially  obtain  a  guard 
for  her  safety.^     A  petition  from  the  officers  in  garrison  at 
Oxford,  secretly  set  on  foot  by  the  king  himself,§  urgently  op- 
posed  the  suspension   of  arms.     In  vain  did  some  of  the  par- 
liamentary  commissioners,  in  private  conversations,  endeavor 
to  excite  his  fears  as  to  the  future  ;  in  vain  did  other  commis- 
sioners,  who  had  come  from  Scotland  to  solicit  the  calling  of  a 
parliament  in  that   kingdom,  propose  their  mediation.  I      He 
r^ected  it  as  an  affront,   forbade  them  to  meddle  with  the 
attairs  of  England,  and  at  last  made  the  commissioners,  as  his 
final  answer,  the  offer  to  return  to  the  parliament,  if  it  would 
remove  its  place  of  meeting  to  some  place  at  least  twenty  miles 
from  London.     Upon  the  receipt  of  this  messaije,  parliament 
immediately  recalled  its  commissioners,  and  by^so  urgent  an 
order  that  they  felt  themselves  compelled  to  set  off  the  same 
day  (April  15),  though  it  was  late  and  their  travelling  car- 
nages were  not  ready. IT 

Their  proceedings  at  Oxford,  particularly  their  intercourse 
with  the  king  and  the  court,  had  inspired  the  partisans  of 

t  J^^jt^locke,  68  t  Clarendon,  Memoirs,  i.,  181. 

i  WK-.  ,     ,  §  ^^'^-  II  Clarendon,  ii.,  324,  &c. 

^-  Whitelocke,  69  ;  Rushworth.  ii.,  3,  164  ;  Clarendon,  ii.,  335. 


204 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


205 


•fV.  miiPh  distrust      Lord  Northumberland,  on  his  arri- 

right  the  earl  s^^uck  mn  parliament,  the  quar- 

took  the  field.t     It  was  stm  na  ^  ^       ^^^^  ^^^ 

success,  again  rejected  this  dw^^^^^^^  ^.^^ 

Sg7:o\'^eS:a1lai:td";erd  indispensable  to  the  safety 

°^argth.Utedintendays(April27)^;^^^^^^^^^^ 

once  7- P-I^^t  *;:'rier  from  htTha'n  treache.y 
h.s  refusal^  N^*^^^,^,^,,  ^h  regret,  and,  to  counteract  his 
or  fear  ;  but  he  made  war  «  b     .  pleasures  of 

„.elancholy  -t-P^^^^^^^^^  the  cam- 

popularity.  Even  ^e^^rej^^  ^^^^essed  against  him  in  the 
^aign,  some  anger  had  been  e^xpr^  s^^^^^  ^  ^^^  ^^^ 

r  rorthCny  T^^  i  vTolent  had  gone  so  far  as  to 
Stfethe  JthS'it  was  impossible  to  supersede  him,  and  the 

*  Pari.  Hist.,  iii..  109  j  ^laren^^^^^^^^  n'according  to  May. 

t  April  15.  according  to  Rushvsoith  ,  Apr      ^J^^^^^^„  ,^^  ,^^. 

j  Clarendon,  u.,  ^33-  * 


name  of  Hampden,  it  is  said,  had  been  mentioned.*  Hamp- 
den was  too  wise  to  entertain  even  the  idea  of  a  power  for 
which  he  felt  no  desire  ;  whether  capable  or  not  of  command- 
ing, he  only  served  under  Essex  as  a  colonel.  But  since  the 
beginning  of  the  war,  during  the  winter  more  especially,  others 
had  acquired  a  more  independent  and  extended  glory.  In  the 
north,  Fairfax  and  his  father,  notwithstanding  the  superiority 
of  lord  Newcastle,  daily  and  in  every  direction  disputed  with 
him,  in  the  most  daring  manner,  the  dominion  of  that  part  of 
the  country. f  At  the  head  of  the  confederation  of  the  eastern 
counties,:]:  lord  Manchester,  it  is  true,  had  no  opportunity  of 
encountering  any  royalist  leader  of  eminence,  but  he  had  often 
given  valuable  assistance  to  the  parliamentarians  of  the  north- 
ern and  midland  counties ;  well-organized  bodies  of  militia 
were  ready  to  follow  him  ;  and  his  frankness,  his  liberality,  ^ 
and  his  gentleness  endeared  him  to  the  population  there.  In  I 
the  same  counties,  colonel  Cromwell,  already  famous  for  vari- 
ous dashing  exploits,  as  skilftrttjr  planned  as  ably  executed, 
exercised  over  the  minds  of  many  men  of  bold  spirit,  enthusi- 
astic piety,  and  of  a  condition  at  once  wealthy  and  obscure,  an  , 
influence  which  already  gave  proof  of  great  genius  and  great  * 
power.  Finally,  in  the  south  and  west,  the  dispersion  of  seve- 
ral bands  of  royalists  and  the  taking  of  seven  places  in  three 
months,§  had  gained  sir  William  Waller  the  appellation  of 
"William  the  Conqueror."||  The  parliament  then,  it  was 
said,  was  at  no  loss  for  either  generals  or  armies,  and  if  lord 
Essex  refused  to  conquer,  he  must  make  way  for  some  one 
else. 

No  specific  proposition,  no  public  suggestion  even,  followed 
these  bitter  speeches.  Essex  was  not  merely  an  officer  in  the 
service  of  a  discontdntied  "pSrly  ;  to  him  were  attached  the  lords 
who  were  engaged  in  the  war,  the  moderate  men  who  wished 
for  peace,  and  the  clearer-sighted  presbyterians,  already  un- 
easy at  the  proceedings  of  the  more  daring  sectaries.     Hamp- 


*  Wood,  Athenae  Oxoniensis,  article  *'  Hampden." 

t  Fairfax,  Mem.  (1699),  13,  et  seq. 

X  Lord  Kimbolton,  known  also  under  the  name  of  lord  Mandeville, 
and  who  had  borne  the  title  of  lord  Manchester  since  the  death  of  his 
father,  which  took  place  on  the  9th  of  November,  1642. 

§  Chichester,  Winchester,  Malmsbury,  Hereford,  Tewksbury,  Chep- 
stow, and  Monmouth. 

II  Clarendon,  ii.,  417. 

18 


i  i 


1 1 


206 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


den  himself,  and  the  leaders  of  the  political  party,  though  they 
urged  the  earl  to  act  with  greater  vigor,  had  no  design  of 
separating  from  him.  Discord  then  did  not  openly  break  out, 
but,  concealed,  it  was  already  in  active  operation,  and  Essex 
very  soon  felt  its  effects.  Those  who  were  fain  to  show  him 
outward  respect,  secretly  did  all  in  their  power  to  impede  him ; 
and  his  defenders,  thinking  they  did  quite  enough  in  speaking 
for  him,  took  very  little  pains  to  give  him  practical  assistance. 
Before  the  end  of  a  month  he  had  to  complain  of  the  bad  con- 
dition of  his  army ;  pay,  provisions,  clothing,  all  were  want- 
ing ;  suffering  and  sickness  decimated  his  men,  lately  so  care- 
fully provided  for  by  the  city.  He  made  his  wants  known  to 
the  different  committees  whose  business  it  was  to  supply  them  ; 
but  his  adversaries,  more  active  and  indefatigable  than  his 
friends,  had  far  greater  influence  in  these  quarters ;  it  was, 
in  fact,  to  his  enemies,  in  consequence  of  their  unceasing  ac- 
tivity, that  most  of  the  executive  measures  had  been  entrusted  ; 
the  subordinate  agents  were  almost  all  of  their  selection.  All 
the  general's  appeals  were  without  effect.*  Though  the  second 
campaign  had  opened,  no  decided  change  was  perceptible  ; 
and  already  the  party  which  had  divested  the  king  of  power 
felt  that  power  slipping  from  its  grasp  ;  already  another  party, 
though  as  yet  obliged  to  remain  silent,  were  strong  enough  to 
reduce  the  great  army  of  the  parliament  to  inefficiency,  and 
earnest  enough  in  its  purpose  to  risk  everything  by  giving  the 
present  advantage  to  the  common  enemy. 

Already,  too,  and  under  the  influence  of  the  same  feelings, 
another  army  was  silently  forming.  In  those  skirmishes 
which,  notwithstanding  the  negotiations  and  delays  between 
Oxford  and  London,  were  every  day  taking  place,  the  parlia- 
mentarians, since  the  Brentford  affair,  had  experienced  fre- 
quent defeats.  The  royal  cavalry,  more  especially,  struck 
terror  into  the  parliamentary  horse,  and  the  cavalry  was  still, 
as  in  the  feudal  times,  the  most  honored  and  efficient  force. 
Hampden  and  Cromwell  were  talking  one  day  of  this  inferi- 
ority of  their  party :  "  How  can  it  be  otherwise  ?  "  asked 
Cromwell ;  "  your  horse  are  for  the  most  part  superannuated 
domestics,  tapsters,  and  people  of  that  sort ;  theirs  are  the  sons 
of  gentlemen,  men  of  quality.     Do  you  think  such  poor  vaga- 

•  May,  iii.,  101 ;  Holies,  Mem.  9. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


207 


bonds  as  your  fellows,  have  soul  enough  to  stand  against  gen- 
tlemen full  of  resolution  and  honor  ?  Take  not  my  words  ill : 
I  know  you  will  not ;  you  must  have  fellows  animated  by  a 
spirit  that  will  take  them  as  far  as  the  king's  gentlemen,  or 
you'll  always  be  beaten."  "  You  are  right,"  said  Hampden, 
"  but  this  cannot  be."  "  I  can  do  something  towards  it,"  said 
Cromwell,  "  and  I  will :  I  will  raise  men  who  will  have  the 
fear  of  God  before  their  eyes,  and  who  will  bring  some  con- 
science to  what  they  do ;  and  I  promise  you  they  shall  not  be 
beaten."*  He  accordingly  went  through  the  eastern  counties, 
recruiting  young  men,  the  greater  part  known  to  him,  and  he 
to  them ;  all  freeholders  or  the  sons  of  freeholders,  to  whom 
pay  was  not  an  object,  nor  mere  idleness  a  pleasure  ;  all  fierce, 
hardy  fanatics,  engaging  in  the  war  for  conscience  sake,  and 
under  Cromwell  from  confidence  in  him.  "  I  will  not  deceive 
you,"  said  he,  "  nor  make  you  believe,  as  my  commission  has 
it,  that  you  are  going  to  fight  for  the  king  and  parliament :  if 
the  king  were  before  me  I  would  as  soon  shoot  him  as  another ; 
if  your  conscience  will  not  allow  you  to  do  as  much,  go  and 
serve  elsewhere. "f  The  majority  did  not  hesitate  a  moment, 
and  they  were  no  sooner  enlisted,  than  all  the  comforts  of  do- 
mestic, and  all  the  license  of  military  life,  were  alike  inter- 
dicted them ;  subjected  to  the  most  severe  discipline,  com- 
pelled to  keep  their  horses  and  arms  in  perfect  order,  often 
sleeping  in  the  open  air,  passing  almost  without  relaxation  from 
the  duties  of  military  service  to  exercises  of  piety,  their  leader 
insisted  upon  their  devoting  themselves  to  their  new  calling  as 
earnestly  as  to  their  cause,  and  that  the  free  energy  of  fanati- 
cism should  in  them  be  combined  with  the  disciplined  firmness 
of  the  soldier.ij:  When  the  campaign  opened,  fourteen  squad- 
rons of  such  volunteers,  forming  a  body  of  about  a  thousand 
horse,  marched  under  the  orders  of  Cromwell. § 

A  month  passed  almost  without  any  incident.  The  taking 
of  Reading,  so  little  thought  of  in  London,  had  excited  the 

*  This  conversation  is  related  in  a  pamphlet  of  the  time,  entitled 
"  Monarchy  asserted  to  be  the  best  form  of  government,  in  a  conference 
at  Whitehall  between  Oliver  and  a  committee  of  parliament."  Lon- 
don, 1660,  8vo. 

t  Mem.  of  the  Protectoral  House,  &c.,  by  Mark  Noble  (1787),  i.,271. 

X  Whitelocke,  p.  68 ;  Mercurius  Pragmaticus,  of  the  30th  of  May, 
1648;  Bates,  "  Elenchus  motuum  nuperorum,"  part  2,  p.  220. 

§  May,  ii.,  80. 


208 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


209 


'% 


greatest  alarm  at  Oxford,  and  the  king,  instead  of  acting,  was 
deliberating  whether  he  should  not  take  to  flight.     The  par- 
liament,  embarrassed  with  its  internal  dissensions,  was  more 
occupied  with  these  than  about  its  enemies.     Now,  it  sought 
to  satisfy  at  once  all  its  adherents,  violent  and  moderate,  poli- 
ticians and  devotees  ;  now,  decisive  resolutions,  obtained  with 
great  difficulty  by  one  party,  remained  without  effect,  and  as 
if  abandoned  by  common  consent.     The   presbyterians  had 
long  demanded,  and  had  been  promised  an  assembly  of  divines 
to  reform,  at  length,  the  church :  it  was  convoked  ;*  but  par- 
liament itself  named  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  of  the  mem- 
bers;   associated  with  them  thirty  laymen,  ten  lords,   and 
twenty  members  of  the  commons,  with  the  honors  of  prece- 
dence ;  ecclesiastics  of  all  sorts  of  opinions  were  summoned ; 
and,  without  authority  or  independence,  the  assembly  had 
merely  to  give  its  advice  on  the  questions  which  the  houses  of 
parliament,  or  one  of  them,  thought  fit  to  propose.f     A  charge 
of  high  treason  was  brought  against  the  queen,  and  no  one 
raised  his  voice  against  it ;  but  after  Pym  had  carried  it  to  the 
upper  house  (May  23),  it  was  no  more  heard  of.:):     The  ab- 
sence of  the  great  seal  daily  impeded  the  administration  of 
justice  and  other  public  and  private  business.     To  put  an  end 
to  this  inconvenience,  and  moreover,  to  assume  to  themselves 
the  legal  attributes  of  sovereignty,  the  commons  ordered  a  new 
great  seal  to  be  prepared  (middle  of  May) ;  but  the  lords  re- 
fused  their  assent  to  this  proceeding,  more  afraid  of  usurping 
the  emblems  of  sovereign  power  than  of  exercising  it  without 
this  sanction ;  and  many  of  the  commons  thought  it  prudent 
to  add  their  entreaties.^     Sometimes  the  various  parties,  voting 
together  with  different  views,  combined  in  a  deceptive  and 
barren  unanimity  ;  more  frequently,  of  nearly  equal  strength, 
they  reduced  each  other  to  incapacity,  and  seemed  to  wait  till 
some   external  circumstance   should   force  them  to  unite  or 

separate  for  ever.  n  o>     -m 

On  the  31st  of  May,  a  fast  day,  in  the  church  of  St.  Mar- 
garet's, Westminster,  both  houses  were  listening  to  a  sermon : 
a  note  was  delivered  to  Pym,  who  rose  immediately,  and  after 

♦  By  a  resolution  of  parliament  of  the  12th  of  June,  1643;  they  be- 
gan to  sit  on  the  1st  of  July  following.  ,     ..     „   ««, 
t  Neal,  iii.,  43.                           t  Rushworth,  u.,  3,  321. 
§  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  115  ;  May,  iii. 


a  very  animated  but  whispered  conversation  with  those  around 
him,  waiting  not  for  the  end  of  the  service,  hastily  went  out 
with  his  principal  colleagues,  leaving  the  congregation  in  a 
state  of  excitement  commensurate  with  their  ignorance  and 
their  curiosity.* 

The  sermon  over,  the  houses  met,  and  the  public  learned 
that  a  wide-spread  conspiracy  had  just  been  discovered  ; 
several  lords,  it  was  said,  several  members  of  the  commons, 
and  a  great  number  of  citizens  were  concerned  in  it.  They 
had  designed  to  arm  the  royalists,  to  seize  upon  the  Tower, 
the  arsenals,  and  the  principal  military  posts,  to  arrest  the 
leaders  of  both  houses,  and  finally,  to  introduce  the  king's 
troops  into  London.  That  very  day,  May  31st,  had  been 
named  for  the  execution  of  the  plot.  The  whole  matter, 
however,  it  was  added,  would  soon  be  cleared  up,  for  a  com- 
mittee of  inquiry  had  been  appointed,  and  already  several 
persons  were  mentioned  as  having  been  arrested  by  their 
command.  ■[" 

And,  in  point  of  fact,  in  the  course  of  that  night  and  the 
next  day,  Edmund  Waller,  a  member  of  the  commons,  and  a 
poet  of  celebrity,  Mr.  Tomkins,  his  brother-in-law,  formerly 
attached  to  the  queen's  household,  Mr.  Challoner,  a  rich  citi- 
zen, and  several  others,  were  arrested  and  examined.  All  of 
them  acknowledged,  with  more  or  less  of  detail,  the  existence 
of  a  plot,  the  extent  and  purport  of  which,  however,  were 
very  differently  apprehended  by  the  various  conspirators. 
Some  had  only  contemplated  the  refusing  to  pay  taxes,  in  order 
to  necessitate  peace  ;  others  wanted  to  present  to  both  houses, 
simultaneously  and  in  great  numbers,  pacific  petitions ;  others 
had  only  been  present  at  some  meetings,  or  assisted  in  draw- 
ing up  certain  lists  wherein  were  set  forth  the  names  of  all 
the  ascertained  citizens,  distributing  them  into  three  classes, 
the  "  well-meaning,  the  moderate,  and  the  enemies."  But 
amidst  these  varioui  notions  and  motives,  the  plot,  long  since 
formed,  had  daily  gained  ground.  It  was  now  called  to  mind, 
that  more  than  three  months  before,  in  one  of  those  negotia- 
tions so  often  resumed  and  broken  off,  Waller  had  been  one 
of  the  commissioners  sent  to  Oxford,  and  that  on  the  day  of 
their  presentation,  he  being  the  last  introduced,  the  king  had 


•  Clarendon,  ii.,  378. 

18* 


t  lb. ;  State  Trials,  iv.,  627. 


■yii 


210 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


received  him  with  particular  condescension,  saying:  <  Mr. 
Waller,  though  the  last,  you  are  not  the  worst,  nor  the  least 
in  my  favor."*     From  that  time   a  constant  correspondence 
had  been  kept  up  with  Oxford,  in  which  certain  royalist  mer- 
chants,  who  had  quitted  London,  to  escape  the  persecution  of 
the  commons,  were  the  principal  agents  ;t  one  of  these,  named 
Hall,  lived  secretly  at  Beaconsfield,  entrusted  with  the  trans- 
mission  of  messages  ;  lady  Aubigny,  to  whom  the  parliament 
had  given  permission  to  go  to  Oxford   for  her  private  affairs, 
had  brought  back  in  a  little  box,  a  commission  from  the  king, 
authorizing  some  of  the  conspirators  to  levy  men  and  money 
in  his  name  ;  finally,  some  days  back,  a  message  had  been 
conveyed  to  Hall,  *'  that  the  great  vessel  was  come  into  port, 
meaning  that  everything  was  ready  ;  and  he   had  forwarded 
this  information  to  lord  Falkland,  who  had  answered :      Let 
them  make  haste,  then,  for  the  war  every  day  becomes  more 
difficult  to  put  a  stop  to.  "if 

Here  was  much  more  than  party-justice  needs  in  the  way 
of  proofs  ;  and  parliament  might,  if  it  had  chosen,  have  be- 
lieved more.     Seized  with  a  basely  passionate  desire  to  save 
his  own  life,  Waller  determined  to  do  so  at  whatever  price. 
He  put  everything  in  motion  ;  money,  confessions,  accusations, 
addressing  the  most  obscure,  as  well   as  the  most  powertul 
protectors,  supplicating  all  the   fanatics  of  any   mfluence  to 
come  and  hear  the  humble  profession  of  his  repentance ;  as 
ready  to  exaggerate  the  extent  of  the  plot,  as  he  had  perhaps 
been  to  exaggerate  at  Oxford,  the  number  and  influence  oi  the 
conspirators.     Lord  Portland  and  lord  Conway  had  received 
some  secret  instructions  from  him ;  he  denounced  them ;  the 
earl  of  Northumberland  and  many  others  were  compromised 
by  his  answers.^     Though  few  among  the  parties  imp  heated 
had  done  anything  criminal  in  point  of  law,  many  had  known 
and  approved  of  what  was  going  on.     But  parliament,  with 
courageous  wisdom,  would  not  take  adv^tage  either  ot  the 
imprudence  of  its  enemies  or  the  baseness  of  its  accomplice, 
deeming  that  justice  would  suffice  for  its  safety.     Only  seven 
persons  were  brought  before  a  court  martial ;  and  ot   five 
who  were    condemned,  but   two,    Challoner   and  Tomkins, 

•  Whitelocke,  67.  t  Sir  Nicholas  Crisp,  sir  George  Benyon,&c. 

1  State  Trials,  iv.,  626  ;  Clarendon,  ii.,  376. 
§  May,  iii.,  45;  Clarendon,  ii.,  379. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


211 


underwent  their  sentence.  They  died  like  brave  men  (July  5), 
but  without  thinking  themselves  or  affecting  to  be  martyrs  ; 
even  manifesting,  with  touching  sincerity,  some  doubt  as  to 
the  goodness  of  their  cause  :  "  I  prayed  God,"  said  Challoner, 
as  he  ascended  the  scaffold,  "  that  if  this  design  might  not  be 
honorable  to  him,  it  might  be  known.  God  heard  me." 
Tomkins  said,  **  I  am  glad  the  plot  has  been  discovered,  for  it 
might  have  occasioned  very  ill  consequences."*  As  for 
Waller,  who  had  likewise  been  condemned,  his  life  was 
granted  as  the  recompense  of  his  confessions,  by  the  influence 
of  some  of  his  relations,  among  others,  of  his  cousin  Crom- 
well ;  perhaps,  too,  through  that  lingering  respect  which  is 
still  paid  to  genius,  even  when  it  only  serves  to  render  base- 
ness more  conspicuous. f 

For  some  days,  the  leaders  of  the  commons  flattered  them- 
selves that  the  discovery  and  punishment  of  this  conspiracy 
would  throw  consternation  into  Oxford,  intimidate  the  royalists 
in  London,  suspend  the  dissensions  of  the  parliament,  relieve, 
in  a  word,  their  party  from  the  embarrassments  in  which  its 
energy  was  fruitlessly  wasting  itself.  But  these  hopes  were 
soon  dissipated ;  scarcely  had  the  thanksgivings  ceased  to  re- 
echo through  the  metropolitan  churches,  scarcely  had  it  taken 
the  new  oath  of  union,  decreed  in  the  moment  of  peril,  before 
parliament  found  itself  a  sufferer  from  greater  reverses  with- 
out, and  more  violent  disputes  within. 

The  king  had  heard,  without  much  concern,  of  the  failure 
of  the  city  plot,  for  nearly  at  the  same  time,  he  received  in- 
telligence that  in  the  south,  west,  and  north,  his  generals  had 
obtained  distinguished  success  ;  and  he  preferred  a  triumph 
obtained  by  the  cavaliers  and  war,  to  one  achieved  by  under- 
hand dealings  with  citizens  who  had  so  lately  opposed  his 
counsels.  On  the  19th  of  June,  an  unexpected  event  seemed 
to  recal  his  thoughts  to  London  and  the  parliament.  A  report 
spread  that  the  day  before,  some  leagues  from  Oxford,  on 
Chalgrave  Common,  in  a  skirmish  of  cavalry  wherein  prince 
Rupert  had  surprised  and  beaten  the  parliamentarians,  Hamp- 
den had  been  wounded :  "  I  saw  him,"  said  a  prisoner,  "  quit 
the  field  before  the  action  was  finished,  contrary  to  his  custom ; 
his  head  was  hanging  down,  his  hands  leaning  on  his  horse's 


*  State  Trials,  iv.,  632. 


t  Ibid.,  635 ;  May,  ut  sup. 


212 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


213 


neck  ;  he  is  certainly  wounded."     The  news  caused  a  great 
sensation  in  Oxford,  though  rather  of  curiosity  than jf  joy  ; 
they  could  scarcely  believe  that  such  a  man  should  be  on  the 
point  of  falling  under  so  unexpected  a  blow ;'  they  hesitated  to 
J^ioice.     The  king  himself,  on  hearing  the  news,  only  thought 
of  embracing  so  good  an  opportunity  of  conciliating,  if  possi- 
bie,   this  powerful  adversary,  who  had  done  him  so  much 
harm,  but  who  was  thought  capable  of  repairing  everything 
Doctor  Giles,  a  country  neighbor  of  Hampden's,  and  who  had 
kept  up  a  familiar  correspondence  with  him,  was  then  at  Ox- 
ford  ;  the  king  told  him  to  send  to  Hampden,  as  if  from  him- 
self,  to  see  how  he  was,  for  that  if  he  had  no  surgeon  he  would 
send  him  one  of  his  own.     The  doctor  hesitated  ;      for,     said 
he   "  I  have  seemed  unlucky  to  him  in  several  conjunctures 
of  time,  when  I  made   addresses  to  him  in  "^Y  07'\  ^ehall. 
Once  when  my  goods  were  stopped  and  robbed,  and  I  addressed 
him  for  relief,  my  messenger  came  in  his  house  that  very  in- 
stant  in  which  the  news  of  his  eldest  son's  death  came  to  him  ; 
and  some  good  time  after,  falling  into  a  like  calamity,  I  sen 
to  him  agdn  ;  but  my  messenger  met  there  with  another  that 
brought  him  the  news  of  his  beloved  daughter  Mrs   Knight- 
ley's  death  ;  so  I  seemed  to  screech-owl  him."*     The  doctor, 
however,  undertook  the  king's  mission      But  when  his  mes- 
senger  arrived  on  the  24th  of  June,  he  found  Hampden  almos 
lifeless  ;  he  had  had  his  shoulder  fractured  by  two  balls,  and 
for  six  days  had  suffered  the  most  exquisite  tortures.     He 
was,  however,  told  who  it  was  had  sent  to  inquire  for  him, 
and  with  what  intention.     A  powerful  agitation  was  seen  to 
pervade   his  whole   frame,  he  appeared  about  to  speak,    but 
could  not,  and  died   a  few  moments  after.     As  soon  as  his 
death  was  clearly   ascertained,  Charles  was  infinitely  more 
gratified  than  he  would  have  been  at  finding  his  antagonist 
alive,  and  inclined  to  negotiate  ;  and  Hampden  was  no  longer 
mentioned  at  the  court  at  Oxford,  except  to  recal  his  offences 
or  to  remark  triumphantly  that  he  had  been  killed  in  the  same 
county,  near  the  very  place,  where  he  had  been  the  first  to 
put  in  execution  the  order  of  parliament  concernmg  the  militia, 
and  to  levy  men  against  the  king.f  ' 

In  London,  on  the  contrary,  and  throughout  almost  the  whole 

*  Warwick's  Memoirs  (1702),  241.  t  Clarendon,  ii.,  396. 


country,  there  was  manifested  profound  grief.     Never  had  a 

man  inspired  a  whole  nation  with  so  much  confidence  :  who- 

ever  belonged  to  the  national  party,  no  matter  in  what  rank  or 

from  what  motives,  looked  to  Hampden  for  the  success  of  his/ 

views;  the  more  moderate  had  failFirThis  wisdom;  the  morel 

violent,  m  his  devoted  patriotism  ;  the  more  honest,  in  his  up. 

Tightness ;  the  more  intriguing,  in  his  talents.     Prudent  and 

reserved,  while  ever  ready  to  brave  danger,  he  had  been  the 

cause  of  no  failure,  still  possessed  the  affections  of  all,  and   bv 

Ins  unexpected  loss,  gave  a  shock  to  the  hopes  of  all.     HaDDv 

and  but  too  rare  fortune,  which  thus  fixed  his  name  for  ever 

on  that  height,  whither  the  love  and  full  confidence  of  his  con- 

temporaries  had  carried  it,  and  perhaps  saved  his  virtue,  like 

his  glory,  from  the  rocks  on  which  revolutions  drive  and  wreck 

the  noblest  of  their  favorites  ! 

His  death  seemed  a  signal  for  the  disasters  which  now  for 
more  than  two  months,  successively  and  without  interruption 
assailed  the  parliament,  aggravating  from  day  to  day  the  evil 
as  yet  hidden  of  which  they  were  the  result.     The  enemies 
ot  bssex,  in  leaving  his  army  deficient  of  everything,  had  re- 
lied,  but  mistakenly,  on  the  success  of  his  rivals.     While  the 
general-in-chief  and  the  council  of  war  who  accompanied  him 
were  sending  messenger  afler  messenger  to  demand  money, 
clothes,  ammunition  and  arms,*  the  news  came  that  at  Ather! 
ton-moor  m  the  north,  Fairfax  had  been  defeated  (June  30),+ 
that  sir  John  Hotham  was  on  the  point  of  surrendering  Hull  to 
the  queen,  that  lord  Willoughby  could  no  longer  defbnd  Lin- 
colnshire  agamst  lord  Newcastle  ;  and  that  thus  the  confedera- 
tion ot  the  eastern  counties,  that  bulwark  of  parliament,  was 
about  to  be  thrown  open  to  the  enemy.     It  was  still  worse  in 
the  south-west ;  in  one  week  sir  William  Waller  had  lost  two 
Datties;;  the  peasants  of  Cornwall,  those  descendants  of  the 
ancient  Britons,  were  dispersing,  in  every  encounter,  the  par- 
liamentary recruits;  they  had  been  seen  at  Lansdown,  after 
having  modestly  begged  permission  to.  run  in  upon  and  take  a 
Dattery  previously  considered  altogether  inaccessible;  and  a 
lortnight  afler,  under  the  walls  of  Bristol,  they  mounted  to  the 

t  tI^^:  "A*"  "V  ^^'*-  t  Fairfax,  Mem.,  36. 

doL   WilL^r\  j7;i3^^^  "^"^^  ^'  ^""^'^^^  '^  Roundway. 


214 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


215 


attack  with  the  same  intrepidity.*     In  Cornwall,  landed  pro 
nertv  hid  not,  as  elsewhere,  constantly  changed  hands  ;  the 
perty  haa  noi,  ab  ,  centuries,  sur- 

r„irb5Thelrf7.S  orfa™e..a„d  laborers  ;  and 
[he  people,  of  a  pious  and  artless  disposition,  strangers  to  he 
new  S  and  views,  obedient  without  fear  or  servility  to  the 
TnAuencrof  the  nobil  ty,  felt  for  their  superiors  and  their  old 
customs  the  same  enthusiasm  that  the  most  -aU,us  pari  a 
mentarians  had  for  their  opinions  and  th^^J^ghtst     Besides 

there  and  in  the  adjacent  counties  7«'^«^3\fXr-in"fw 
most  judicious  friends-the  marquisof  Hertford,  brother  m  law 
.^  T?=»ov  who  had  for  a  lone  time  lived  retired  on  his  estate, 
disgusted  Jith  ttcourt ;  si?Bevil  Greenville,  the  most  popu- 

*  Clarendon,  ii.,  437,  &c.  aprvices  of  the  men  of 

It  runs  thus : 

"  ^'  ^ *«  To  the  inhabitants  of  the  county  of  Cornwall 
"  We  are  so  highly  sensible  of  the  merit  «f  5>^7^  ^«^"7  ^/^^^^our 
of  th^r  zeal  for  tleLfence  f/-  P-^'sol^^^^^^^^^ 

prosecution  of  their  great  work  against  ««  P°;„^"^\;„'^ti^X'^urnished 

Sd,  and  perpetuate  to  all  ti'^V'jwrd'le  do  hereTy    ender^ur 

be  kept  for  ever  as  a  record  m  the  "f-ne  ;  that  as  l^ng^^  ^ne  ^^^^ 

rarclttrhatht^^Uerfr^u1'^^^^^^^^^^  ^  .derived  with 


lar  of  the  Cornish  gentlemen,  all  of  whom  were  popular  •  sir 
Ralph  Hopton,  a  worthy  man  and  excellent  officer,  who  sought 
no  favors  from  Oxford,  severely  repressed  pillage,  everywhere 
protected  the  people,  and  while  fulfilling  what  he  deemed  the 
duty  of  a  faithful  subject,  did  it  with  all  the  humanity  of  a 
good  citizen.     The  merit  of  these  generals,  the  bravery  of 
their  soldiers,  reflected,  by  contrast  utter  discredit  upon  Waller, 
and  his  army,  and  inspired  them  with  fear ;  there  was  no  sort 
of  discipline  among  the  parliamentary  troops  ;  they  deserted  in 
whole  companies  ;  even  the  commissioners  sent  by  parliament 
to  excite  the  zeal  of  the  people,  were  seized  with  the  same  ter- 
ror, and  communicated  it  to  those  around  them.     The  magis- 
trates of  Dorchester  were  one  day  showing  the  fortifications  of 
their  town  to  Mr.  Strode,  and  asked  him  what  he  thought  of 
them :  "  All  that,"  said  he,  "  will  not  stop  the  cavaliers  one  half 
hour  ;   'tis  mere  sport  with  them  to  scale  ramparts  twenty  feet 
high."*  Dorchester  surrendered  at  the  first  summons  (August) ; 
Weymouth,  Portland,  Barnstable,  Bideford,  followed  its  exam- 
ple (end  of  August)  ;  Taunton,  Bridgewater,  Bath,  had  already 
done  the  same  (end  of  July)  ;  Bristol,  the  second  city  in  the 
kingdom,  yielded  to  the  first  attack  (July  25),t  through  the 
cowardice  of  its  governor,  Nathaniel  Fiennes,  one  of  the  leaders 
of  the  most  violent  faction.    Every  day  brought  to  London  the 
news  of  some  loss  ;  at  Oxford,  on  the  contrary,  strength  in- 
creased with  confidence.    The  queen  had,  at  length,  joined  the 
king,  bringing  with  her  three  thousand  men  and  some  cannon.:]: 
Their  first  interview  took  place  on  Keynton  Down,  the  place 
where,  the  year  before,  the  two  parties  had  for  the  first  time 
come  to  blows  ;  and  the  same  day  (July  13),  at  the  same  hour, 
Wilmot  and  Hopton  obtained  a  brilliant  victory  over  the  par- 
liamentarians,§  at   Roundway-down,   in    Wiltshire.     Charles 
and  his  wife  entered  Oxford  in  triumph  ;  while  Waller,  who, 
when  he  set  out  for  the  army,  had  ordered  all  the  constables 
on  his  way  to  hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  receive  his  pri- 
soners, returned  to  London  without  soldiers.  || 

Essex,  still  immovable,  and  laying  the  blame  of  his  inaction 
on  those  who  reproached  him  for  it,  was  present  at  many  de- 

*  Clarendon,  ii.,  502. 

t  Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  284  ;  State  Trials,  iv.,  1S6. 

t  Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  274. 

§  Clarendon,  ii.,  434 ;  Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  285.      ||  Clarendon,  ut  sup. 


216 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


217 


feats  without  partaking  of  them  or  preventing  them.    At  last, 
he  wrrte  to  the  upper  house :  "  If  it  were  thought  fit  to  send  to 
Ms  mSy  to  have  peace,  with  the  settling  of  rehgion,  the  laws 
and'Ss  of  the 'subjects,  and  bringing  to  J-*  trial  th^se 
chief  delinquents  that  have  brought  all  this  mischief  to  both 
k^gdoms:  or  else,  if  his  majesty  shall  please  to  absen    him 
self  there  may  be  a  day  set  down  to  give  a  period  to  all  these 
unhappy  distractions  by  a  battle,  which,  when  and  where  they 
shall  clfoose  shall  be  indifferent,  I  shall  be  ready  to  perform 
S  dutH  owe  you ;  so  that,  if  peace  be  not  now  concUided 
the  matter  may  be  at  once  ended  by  the  sword.         A  lew 
days'^fore,  thiJletter  would  perhaps  have  bee^el   rece-ed^ 
at  the  news  of  the  first  reverses,  the  lords  had  solemnly  pro 
tis  ed  their  fidelity  to  the  king,  and  prepared  new  P-Pof-f 
neace  (June  16)  ;+  the  commons,  on  the  contrary,  rather  irri- 
K  than  cast  down,  had  summoned  the  upper  house  to  adopt, 
whhout  further  delay,  their  resolution  on  the  subject  of  the 
J^Llu  and,  on  tLir  refusal,  had  of  their  o.-nauhor^y 
frdered  one  to  be  engraved,  bearing  on  one  ^ide  the  arms  of 
Ensland  and  Ireland,  on  the  other  a  representation  of  the 
hout  of  commons  sitting  at  Westminster,  without  any  symbol 
to  indicate  the  lords  (beginning  of  July).*    5^-^  a  s^cific 
discord,  the  latter  would  probably  have  P'°"'°ted  *e  pac  fie 
views  of  the  general ;  but  about  the  same  time  (June  20),  the 
rnrflushed^ith  his  first  successes,  officially  declared  that 
&dividuals  assembled  at  Westminster  no  longer  formed 
twoverilable  houses:  that  the  withdrawal  of  so  many  mem- 
bers  and  the  want  of  freedom  of  debate,  had  deprived  them  of 
a  llegal  existence  ;  that  for  the  future  he  should  no^onger 
give  them  the  name  of  parliament,  and,  fin^^y- th^t  he  forbade 
111  his  subjects  to  obey  that  band  of  traitors.§     This  indiscn^ 
minate  and  violent  condemnation  at  once  re-established  union 
between  the  two  houses  ;   on  July  5th  they  voted  in  concert 
that  commissioners  should  proceed,  on  their  part,  to  request  ot 
their  brethren  the  Scots,  to  send  an  army  to  the  succor  of  the 
p^estrnts  of  England,  in  danger  of  falling  "nd-  the  yoke  o 

\  Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  331.  II  Pari.  Hist,  ui.,  144. 


petition  nor  pacific  proposals,  till  he  should  have  recalled  his 
proclamation  declaring  the  two  houses  no  longer  to  form  a  free 
and  legal  parliament.* 

Essex  did  not  press  his  views ;  honest  and  sincere,  in  coun- 
selling peace  he  thought  he  had  fulfilled  a  duty ;  as  for  the 
rest,  he  respected  the  parliament,  and  his  opinion  having  been 
once  given,  far  from  assuming  to  dictate  to  it,  he  held  himself 
ready  to  obey  it.     For  a  few  days  entire  union  seemed  to  reign 
in  London  among  the  various  parties ;  all  joined  in  loading 
lord  Essex  with  marks  of  esteem ;  he  speedily  received  am- 
munition  and  reinforcements.f     At  the  same  time,   Waller, 
notwithstanding  his  disasters,  was  thanked  for  his  courage  and 
treated  with  honor,  as  a  man  whose  services  might  still  be 
highly  useful.J     Orders  were  issued  for  raising,  in  the  eastern 
counties,  a  fresh  army,  to  be  placed  under  the   command  of 
lord  Manchester,  with  Cromwell  as  lieutenant-general  (July 
22). §     Hotham,    whom    the    commons,    forewarned   in   time 
(beginning  of  June),  had  arrested  at  Hull  (June  29),||  before 
he  had  had  an  opportunity  of  surrendering  the  town  to  the 
king,  now  awaited  in  the  Tower  his  punishment ;  Lord  Fairfax 
succeeded  to  his  command  (3  July).ir    The  commissioners  who 
were  to  proceed  to  Scotland  were  named,  two  by  the  lords,  four 
by  the  commons,**  and  were  requested  to  hasten  their  depar- 
ture.    Most  of  the  members  of  the  assembly  of  divines   also 
left  London  for  their  parishes,  to  calm  the  fears  of  the  people, 
and  excite  them  to  fresh  effbrts.ff     Every  day,  in  one  of  the 
churches  of  the  city,  in  the  presence  of  a  multitude  of  mothers, 
children,  sisters,  a  special  service  was  celebrated,  to  invoke  the 
protection  of  God  on  all  who  devoted  themselves  to  the  defence 
of  their  country  and  of  their  country's  laws  ;:|::j:  and  every  mom- 
mg  at  the   roll  of  the  drum,  crowds  of  citizens,   men   and 
women,  rich  and  poor,  went  forth  to  work  at  the  fortifica- 
tions.§§     Never  in  the   house   and  among  the  people  had  so 

•  Journals,  Lords,  July  11.  f  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  144. 

T  Clarendon,  ii.  482. 

§  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  156;  Clarendon,  ut  sup.    This  army  was  to  be 
composed  of  ten  thousand  men. 

L^u^T"®''^'  "•'  ^'  2"^^  '  Whitelocke,  71.     IT  Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  280. 
1  he  lords  Grey  of  Wark  and  Rutland,  sir  William  Armyn,  sir  Harry 
i\^'T,      •  Catcher,  and  Mr.  Darley  (Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  466). 

II  ??^^-  ^.^^^'^  "**'  ^"^^  5  Clarendon,  ii.,  486.         ft  Neal,  ii.,  506. 
§§  May,  11.,  91. 

19 


218 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


219 


„.uch  energy  been  displayed,  with  so  much  prudence  and 

''Tut'lhe'danger  still  increased  ;  the  king's  successes  aug- 
mented in  evefy  direction.     Notwithstanding  the  Pf  l^c  ex 

?rhf  nZm  ssioners  from  the  commons  were  obliged  to  set  ofl 
ai  ±  and  t'S  co-^^  go  no  otherwise  than  by  sea,  the  roads 
S  the  nonh  not  Ling  sal,  nor  Fairfax  strong  enou?h  to  g.ve 
them  an  escort.     They  were  twenty  days  on  their  voyage 
aZ  20-Aug.  9).6     Meantime,  the   king,  better   advised, 
Kiished  a  ^Ider  proclamation.     With  hope,  the  wish  for 
£ce  returned.     On  the  4th  of  August    on  the  motion  of 
fhe  earl  of  Northumberland,  the  lords  adopted  P>-oF«»l^  «° 
the  kTng  the  most  moderate  yet  put  forth  ;  they  ordered  that 
lv>^h    armies   should  be   forthwith  disbanded,   recalled   those 
memberrwho  had  been  expelled  for  joining  the  king,  and  left 
The  questions  of  the  militia'and  the  church  1  r  future  decision, 
the  one  by  a  synod,  the  other  by  parliament.     Ihe  n<«U^a> 
ihL  transmitted  these  to  the  commons,  declaring  ma  liaught> 
t2  that  U  was  time  to  put  an  end  to  the  calamities  of  the 
count  y        Surprised  by^this  unexpected  attack,  the  war  party 
vaWv  inlisted  on  the  danger  of  thus  losing,  for  the  sake  of  a 
few  momh'  respite,  the  fmit  of  so  many  efforts  so  much  su  - 
feiralready  endured.     In  vain  they  requested,  a  all  events 
to  hale  he  matter  put  off  till  the  answer  from  Scotland  should 
lome!    The  o  her  Vies  replied  :  "  It  was  ill  done  to  break 


t  lb.,  150. 


}  lb. 


♦  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  14S. 
iii.,  156. 


off  the  negotiations  at  Oxford;  the  common  and  meaner  sort 
of  people  may  desire  the  continuance  of  the  distractions,  but  it 
IS  evident  that  the  more  substantial  and  rich  men  desire  peace, 
by  their  refusal  to  supply  money  for  the  carrying  on  war.  At 
all  events,  the  sending  reasonable  propositions  to  the  king  will 
either  procure  a  peace,  or,  being  refused,  will  raise  more  men 
and  money  than  all  our  advances  without  it."  It  was  re 
solved  by  ninety  four  to  sixty-five,  that  the  proposals  of  the 
lords  should  be  taken  into  consideration.* 

A  violent  agitation  seized  upon  the  war  party;  peace  thus 
sough    amidst  reverses,  was  not  a  treaty  but  a  defeat,  leaving/ 
all  pubhc  and  private  interests  a  prey  to  the  most  terrible  fears  f 
destroying  utterly  the  hopes  of  the  patriots  who  desired  a  more 
extensive  reform,  of  the  ambitious  who  aimed  at  a  revolution  \ 
It  was  resolved  to  use  every  effort  to  oppose  the  project.     On 
he  evening  of  the  6th  of  August,  although  it  was  Sunday,  the 
lord  mayor,  Pennington,  whom  the  king's  proclamation  had 
excluded  from  all  amnesty,  assembled  the  common  council  of 
the  city  ;  and  the  next  day  a  threatening  petition  required  the 
commons  to  reject  the  proposals  of  the  lords,  and  to  adopt  in 
their  stead  a  resolution  of  which  alderman  Atkins,  the  bearer 
of  the  petition,  at  the  same  time  handed  in  a  copv.f     An  im 
niense  multitude,  called  together  by  small  pamphlets,  distri." 
buted  the  evening  before  in  every  direction,  backed  this  de- 
mand    by    their   outcries.     After    having    forced   their   way 
through  the  mob,  the  lords  forthwith  complained  to  the  com- 
mons  of  its  violence  and  insolence,  declaring  that  they  would 
adjourn  to  the  next  day,  and  then  adjourn  again,  if  such  out- 
rages  were   not  punished.     But   the  commons  had   already 
entered  upon  the  consideration  of  the  proposals  of  peace ;  after 
a  long  debate,  eighty-one  voted  in  their  favor,  and  only  seventy- 
mne  against  them.     The  tumult  was  at  its  height ;  outside  the 
people  exclaimed  that  they  would  not  disperse  till  they  had  an 
answer  to  their  mind  ;  within,  the  opponents  of  peace  violently 
demanded  another  division,  maintaining  that  there  had  been 
^me  mistake,  and  that  they  would  not  be  thus  trifled  with 
liie  motion   was  complied   with  :  the  house   again  divided  • 
eighty-one  members  persisted  in  demanding  peace ;  but  the 
tellers  on  the  other  side  declared  their  own  numbers  to  be 

*  Pari,  Hist.,  3, 156. 

t  Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  p.  336  ;  see  Appendix,  No.  viii. 


220 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH   EEVOLCTION. 


221 


eiffhtv-eight ;  the  speaker  immediately  announced  this  result, 
tndlhe  partisans  of  peace  left  the  house  in  utter  stupefaction 

■^Two  days  after,  on  the  9th  of  August,  they  tried  to  turn 
the  tablefby  a  similar  manoeuvre.     A  mob  of  two  or  three 
housfnd  w Jmen   assembled   early  in   the   mommj   around 
Westminster  Hall,  wearing  white   ribands  on  their   hwids, 
embfem  of  peace, 'and  sent  in  a  doleful  P^«"7' •y"PP^'^i,°i 
the  lords.t     Sir  John  Hippesley  came  out  and  told  them  that 
the  houi  also  desired  peace,  and  hoped  soon  to  procure  it, 
and  that  meantime,  he  h'oped  they  would  retire  to  their^omes 
The  women  remained ;  at  twelve  o'clock  their  number  had 
^crelsed  to  more  than  five  thousand  ;  some  -n  in  women  s 
clothes  were  amongst  them,  and,  at  their  instigation,  a  party 
penetTated   to  the   doors  of  the  house  of  commons,  crymg, 
"Peace '  Peace !"     The  guard,  merely  a  corporal's  party  of 
miMa!requested  them  to  retire  ;  but  this  only  redoubled  their 
"ioSe:^"Give  us  up  the  traitors  who  are  against  peace 
we'll  tear  them  in  pieces !  give  us  up  that  rascal  Pym !      1  hey 
were  forced  back  to  the  tottom  of  the  stairs  and  a  few  sho^ 

were  tod  in  the  air  to  intimidate  th^'" ;,;  ^^  ^f^f  IT   tL 

they  said,  and  commenced  pelting  the  milit.a  with  stones     The 

alter  then  fired  at  them  with  ball,  and  a  squadron  of  horse 

coming  up  at  the  time,  charged  upon  the  crowd,  sword  in 

hand  •^for'^a  moment  the  women  stood  their  ground,  making  a 

lane  for  the  cavalry,  whom  they  assailed  with  imprecations 

and  blows.     They  Jere  at  last  fain  to  retreat ;  and  after  a  few 

minutes  of  fearful  tumult,  there  remained  of  all  the  cro«d 

^ly  seven  or  eight  women  wounded  and  weeping,  and    wo 

Win/dead.     One  of  these,  well  known  by  the  people,  had 

from  her  childhood  sung  the  old  ballads  of  the  country  in  the 

streets  of  London  4  u       i   ^^^  u  i.o.l 

The  victory  was  complete,  but  dearly  purchased  for  it  had 
been  gained  by  fraud  and  violence  ;  means  which  disgrace 
heTr  Ln  success,  especially  when  reform  proceeds  m  ^e 
name  of  the  laws  and  professes  to  restore  their  vigor.  It  was 
already  a  common  saying,  that  the  king  had  been  reproached 
wth  nothing  which  parliament  itself  had  not  in  its  turn  been 
guilty  of.     The  upper  house  was  irritated,  the  blood  of  the 


*  Pari.  Hist,  iii  ,  158. 
I  Rushworth,ii.,  3,357. 


t  See  Appendix,  ix. 


people  had  been  spilled ;  intestine  animosities  began  to  sur- 
mount every  other  feeling.     The  leaders  of  the  commons  were 
informed  that  a  certain  number  of  members,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  principal  lords,  proposed  to  leave  London,  to  seek 
refuge  in  Essex's  camp,  to  proclaim  there  that  they  had  with- 
drawn from  a  parliament  the  slave  of  a  mob,  and  to  enter  into 
negotiations  with  Oxford.     The  design  failed  in  consequence 
of  the  probity  of  Essex,  who  refused  his  concurrence  ;  and  it 
was  a  great  relief  to  the  party  to  find  that  their  general  had 
no  idea  of  betraying  them.*     But  the  lords  Portland,  Love- 
lace, Conway,  Clare,  Bedford,  and  Holland,  none  the  less  left 
London  and  joined  the  king ;  and  the  earl  of  Northumberland 
retired  to  his  castle  of  Petworth.     Illustrious  names,  which, 
though  not  constituting  the  entire  strength  of  parliament,  had 
served  as  its  shield  and  invested  it  with  distinction.     Astonished 
to  find  themselves  alone,  some  of  the  citizen-chiefs  seemed 
almost  intimidated  ;  Pym  himself  was  accused  of  holding  cor- 
respondence with  the  enemy.f     On  the  other  hand,  the  most 
violent  demagogues,   the  most  fiery  zealots,   began  to  give 
expression  to  their  secret  feelings  ;  John  Saltmarsh,  afterwards 
chaplain  in  Fairfax's  army,  maintained,  that  it  was  essential, 
at  whatever  price,  to  prevent  the  union  of  the  king  and  the 
people,  and  that  if  the  king  would  not  yield  all  they  demanded, 
lie  must  be  extirpated,  he  and  his  race,  and  the  crown  given 
to  some  one  else.     The  pamphlet  in  which  this  appeared  was 
reported  to  the  house  of  commons,  but  Henry  Martyn  spoke 
in  its  defence.     "  I  see,"  said  he,  "  no  reason  to  condemn  Mr. 
Saltmarsh  ;  'tis  better  one  family  should  be  destroyed  than 
many."     "  I  move,"  said  sir  Nevil  Poole,  "  that  Mr.  Martyn 
be  ordered  to  explain  what  one  family  he  means."     "The 
king  and  his  children,"    replied   Martyn,  without  hesitation 
(Sept.  9)  4  a  violence  of  language  till  then  unprecedented, 
and  which  the  party  who  gave  way  to  it,  were  far  from  being 
able  to  act  up  to.     No  news  came  from  Scotland  ;  it  was  not 
even  known  whether  the  commissioners  had  landed,  and  every 
day  they  feared  to  hear  the  king  was  mal-ching  on  London, 
or  that  he  had  laid  siege  to  Gloucester,  the  last  place  remain- 
ing to  parliament  in  the  west  of  the  kingdom,  and  which  alone, 
by  interrupting  the  communications  of  the  royal  armies  be- 

♦  Clarendon,  ii.,  485.         f  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  165.      t  Whitelocke,  72. 

19* 


222 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


223 


tween  the  south-west  and  the  north-east,  prevented  them  from 

^tjsLrrre- modified  by  danger;   Pa-^-s  seriously  ex 
amined  their  position.     Neither  the  one  nor  Ae  °ther  was 
strong  enough  readily  to  crush  its  adversary,  and  be  st  11  m  a 
situation  to  carry  on,  with  advantage,  war  °>;  ?««'=«•     '"f^^^f^ 
of  seeliing  deliverance,  the  moderate  in  weakness,  the  zealots 
in  frenzyfthe  former  comprehended  that  before  they  treated 
they  must  conquer ;  the  latter,  that  to  obtain  victory  it  was 
their  part  to  serve,  that  of  their    rivals  to  command.     A  1 
distrust  was  laid  aside  for  a  while,  all  private  ambition  pos  - 
poned.     A  committee,  comprising  some  of  the  ™est  Par- 
tisans  of  war,t  went  to  Essex  (Aug.  i),t  'nfo^^Vrkp  fi^ 
measures  that  had  just  been  taken  to  recruit  and  make  full 
provision  for  his  army,  inquired  what  else  he  needed   and 
in  a  word,  entrusted  the  destiny  of  the  country  to  his  hands, 
with  the  assurance  of  the  complete  confidence  reposed  in  him 
by  parliament.     On  their  part,  the  earl  and  h's  friends  applied 
themselves  to  war,  as  earnestly  as  though  Aey  had  never 
formed  any  other  wish  :§  Holies,  who  had  applied  for  pass- 
ports, intending  to  retire  with  his  family  to  the  continent,  re- 
called  the  application,  and  remained  ;  everywhere  those  who 
had  been  lately  accused  of  cowardice  or  treason,  took  the  lead 
in  preparations,  efforts,  and  sacrifices ;  and  their  Aery  adver- 
saries, now  reserved  and  docile,  seconded  them  zealously,  but 
without    clamor.     They    even,   almost    without    resistance, 
allowed  Henry  Martyn  to  be  expelled  the  house,  and  sent    o 
the  Tower  for  his  last  outbreak  (Aug.  16),|1  so  firm  was  their 
resolution  to  sacrifice  everything  to  temporary  unanimity,  the 
only  means  of  safety.     This  wise  conduct  soon  produced  its 
fruit  :  while  Waller  and  Manchester  were  each  forming  an 
armv  of  reserve,  levies  of  men,  money,  and  provision  of  all 
sorts,  destined  for  the  army  of  Essex,  the  only  one  at  the  time 
fit  to  resume  wariike  operations,  proceeded  with  unprecedented 
rapidity.     Four  regiments  of  the  London  militia  volunteered 
to  serve  under  him  ;  and  on  the  24th  of  August,  afler  a  solemn 

t  St.''joh?r,''strlde,  and  Crew,  with  whom,  after  some  opposition, 

was  associated  Mr.  Pym.  ^i,    ;:     q   oqi 

X  Journals,  Commons.  §  Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  291. 

II  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  161. 


review  on  Hounslow  Heath,  in  presence  of  nearly  all  the 
members  of  both  houses,  the  earl  departed  at  the  heacj  of  four- 
teen thousand  men,  to  proceed  by  forced  marches  to  the  assist- 
ance of  Gloucester,  which  the  king,  as  had  been  feared,  had 
been  closely  blockading  for  the  last  fortnight. 

It  was  much  to  his  own  regret  that  Charles,  after  his  late 
victories,  had  not  made  a  more  decisive  attempt  on  London 
itself;  a  resolution  to  that  effect  had  been  formed,  and  on  a 
plan  which  seemed  to  promise  success  :  while  the  king  ad- 
vanced from  west  to  east,  lord  Newcastle,  victorious  also  in 
Yorkshire,  was  to  have  marched  from  north  to  south,  and  the 
two  great  royalist  armies  would  have  met  under  the  walls  of 
the  city.  After  the  capture  of  Bristol,  Charles  immediately 
sent  to  lord  Newcastle,  sir  Philip  Warwick,  one  of  his  most 
faithful  adherents,  to  communicate  this  plan,  and  to  request 
him  to  put  himself  in  motion.  But  the  lords  attached  to  the 
king's  party  were  not  generals  whom  he  could  dispose  of  at 
his  pleasure ;  they  had  received  from  him  their  commission, 
not  their  power ;  and,  satisfied  with  upholding  his  cause  in 
places  where  their  influence  prevailed,  had  no  wish,  by  re- 
moving thence,  to  lose  their  independence  with  their  means  of 
success.  Newcastle,  haughty,  grand  in  his  tastes,  fond  of 
pomp  and  ease,  dreaded  the  fatigue  and  annoyance  of  contra- 
diction ;  and  surrounded  himself  by  a  little  court,  whither  the 
elegance  of  his  mind  and  manners  attracted  agreeable  men, 
neither  wished  to  lose  himself  in  the  crowd  of  courtiers  at 
Oxford,  nor  to  take  in  the  king's  army  a  lower  grade  than  the 
uncouth,  ill-bred  foreigner,  prince  Rupert.  After  having 
coldly  listened  to  the  proposals  brought  by  Warwick,  he  re- 
lated to  him,  with  great  savor,  the  story  of  the  Irish  arch-rebel, 
Tyrone,  who,  being  taken  prisoner  by  the  lord-deputy  Mount- 
joy,  and  brought  up  to  queen  Elizabeth  ;  and  Tyrone  perceiv- 
ing the  deputy  waiting  in  the  privy  chamber  among  the 
nobility  and  gentry  there,  without  any  distinguishing  character 
of  the  greatness  he  held  in  Ireland,  vented  himself  to  a  coun- 
tryman of  his,  as  thus  :  "  I  am  ashamed  to  have  been  taken  a 
prisoner  by  yon  great  man,  who  now  in  a  crowd  makes  him- 
self so  low  and  common,  as  to  be  watching  for  a  woman's 
coming  out."     And  then  intimated  that  as  long  as  Hull  re- 

*  May,  ii.,  103  ;  Holies,  Memoirs  (1699),  22. 


224 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


225 


mained  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  he  would  not  leave  York- 
Zr*  Warwick  transmitted  this  answer  to  the  kmg,  who 
dared  not  resent  it.  Some  ^iU  advised  him  to  ^^^^^^^^ 
T  ondon  and  this  was  the  queen's  opmion ;  but  he  had  not 
St  A  hazardous  en^rprises,^^ 

of  personal  danger,  than  of  compromising  his  dignity  ,  ^l^^^^^^^^ 
the  vear  before!  after  the  battles  of  Edgehll  and  brentlord, 
Ws  pride  had  b^en  wounded,  at  being  compe  led,  when  ijearly 
KTates  of  the  capital,  to  retrograde.     Many  good  officers 
^d  tef  the  stge  of  o'lou^ester  some  with  disir^ere^^^^^  -ws 
others  in  the  hope  of  a  rich  booty  ;  colonel  Will  am  Legge 
fven  blasted  that  he  had  assured  correspondence  with  Edward 
Massey    the  governor.t     The  king  at  last  assented  to  this 
S   Jnd  on  L  10th  If  August  his  army  which  he  com 
manded  in  person,  occupied  the  heights  overlooking  the  town 
Tfended  on'ly  by  a  garrison  of  fifteen  hundred  men,  besides 

%'f  htlTrival,  he  at  once  summoned  the  place  to  surrender 
mving  two  hour;  for  an  answer.     Before  the  expiraUon  of 
fhrUmMwo  deputies  from  the  town,  seijeant-major  Pudsey 
and  a  dtizen,  presented  themselves  at  the  camp  both  pale, 
S^n  men   dre  sed  in  black,  and  with  heads  closely  shaved  ; 
"We  bring  to  his  majesty,"  said  they,  -  an  answer  from    he 
eodly  city  of  Gloucester  ;"  and,  on  being  introduced  to  the 
kw\hey  read  a  letter,  which  ran  thus  :  -  We,  the  inhabit- 
antf '  magistrates,  officers,  and  soldiers  within  this  garrison  of 
GloucTsti,  unto  his  majesty's  gracious  --^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^^^ 
humble  answer,  'That  we  do  keep  this  city,  according  to  our 
oath  and  allegiance,  to  and  for  the  use  of  his  majesty  and  his 
royal  posteriti  ;  and  do  accordingly  conceive  ourselves  whd^^ 
bound  to  obey  the  commands  of  his  majesty  «^g"^f  ^  ^j  ^^^^^ 
houses  of  parliament :  and  are  resolved    by  God  s  help,  to 
keerthis  dty  accordingly.' "     On  hearing  this  brief  reply, 
delTvered  L  a  firm,  cleir  tone,  at  the  strange   appearance  of 
fh    messengers,  who  stood  motionless  before  the  1-"?  avv^^^^^^^ 
his  answer!  a  movement  at  once  of  surprise,  derision,  and 
inger!  wT^bout  to  manifest  itself  on  the  part  of  ^^^^^^^^ 
but  Charles,  as  grave  as  his  enemies,  repressed  it  with  a  ges- 
tare,  and  dismi^d  the  deputies  with  these  words:  "If  you 


Warwick,  Mem.,  243. 


t  Clarendon,  ii.,  470. 


expect  help,  you  are  deceived ;  Waller  is  extinct,  and  Essex 
cannot  come."  The  messengers  had  no  sooner  re-entered  the 
town,  than  the  inhabitants,  setting  fire  to  the  suburbs, 'left 
themselves  nothing  to  defend  but  that  which  was  within  the 
walls.* 

For  twenty-six  days  (Aug.  10— Sept.  5),  by  their  indefati- 
gable valor,  they  frustrated  all  the  efforts  of  the  besiegers  • 
except  a  hundred  and  fifty  men,  kept  in  reserve,  the  whole 
garrison  were  constantly  on  foot ;  in  all  their  labors,  in  all 
their  dangers,  the  citizens  took  part  with  the  soldiers,  the 
women  with  their  husbands,  the  children  with  their  mothers. 
Massey  even  made  frequent  sallies,  and  only  three  men  took 
advantage   of  them  to  desert.f     Tired  of  so  long  a  delay 
attended  by  neither  glory  nor  rest,  the  royal  army,  in  a  spirit 
of  revenge,  licentiously  devastated  the  country  round  ;  the 
officers  even  frequently  employed  their  men  to  carry  off*  from 
his  house  some  rich  farmer  or  peaceable  freeholder  of  the 
other  side,  who  only   regained    his   liberty  on  payment  of 
ransom.J      Within  the  camp,   insubordination,  without,    the 
hatred  of  the  people,  daily  increased.     An  assault  might  have 
been  attempted ;  but  that  of  Bristol,  of  such  recent  memory, 
had  cost  so  dear,  that  none  dared  propose  it.     The  king  only 
looked  for  success  by  starving  out  the  place,  when,  to  his 
extreme   surprise,   he   heard   that   Essex   was   approaching. 
Prince  Rupert,  detaching  a  corps  of  cavalry  from  the  army, 
vamly  endeavored   to  stop  him  ;    the  earl   advanced  without 
suffering  himself  to  be  turned  from  his  road,  driving  the  enemy 
before  him.     He  was  already  within  a  few  miles  of  the  camp, 
already  the  king's  horse  had  fallen  back  on  the  advanced  post 
of  his  infantry,  when,  in  the  hope  of  delaying  the  earl,  if  only 
lor  a  day,  Charles  sent  him  a  messenger  with  proposals  of 
peace:    "The  parliament,"  answered  Essex,  "gave  me  no 
commission  to  treat,  but  to  relieve  Gloucester  ;  I  will  do  it,  or 
leave  my  body  beneath  its  walls  !"§— "  No  propositions  I   no 
propositions  !"  shouted  the  soldiers,  when  they  heard  of  the 
arrival  of  a  trumpeter  from  the  king.     Essex  continued  his 
march,  and  the  next  day,  the  5th  of  September,  as  he  was 

*  Clarendon,  ii.,  474  ;  May,  iii.,  96 ;  Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  286. 

I  »i*^'  *""  ^^  5  Rushworth,  ut  sup.  t  Clarendon,  ii.,  512. 

..  §May,  111.,  105;  Clarendon,  ii.,  516;  Whitelocke,  72;  Rushworth, 
U'j  3,  292. 


ii 


226 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


227 


had  saved  the  parliament,  by  g  y mg  -t  time  to  ^^  ^^ 

as  his  expedition  had  been  .  ^^^ /f  ^^P' "  ^  ^jth  a  great 
misled  his  enemies  as  to  his  ^""t^:  f'^X  Wslvalrfhad 
store  of  provisions,  had  fallen  'nto^^'^^^^^^J,  Rupert  and  his 
sustained  with  glory  several  attacks  of  P^ce^'^P^  j^^  ^^^ 
dreaded  hojse ;  when,  on  approachmg  Newbu^^  ^.^^ 

of  September,  he  found  that  '^e  enemy  nfc  ^^^^ 

that  they  occupied  *e  town  and  neghbonng        g      ,^^^^^ 

the  road  to  London  -- t--J/«^'"timself  was  at  the  head 
only  could  throw  it  open,  i  he  «>«?"'  ^.  ^  ( ^uch 
of  his  army,  in  an  advantageous  ^"^^^^^^"J'oxford  and 

ZT  ZT  "xt  Tunt  rindtpf  "dTL  parliamenta- 
Wallingford        ihe  ^J^^J^'f'        ,^    Whatever  the  chances 

ofpassing  forward  and  to  escape  death  by   am.^  ^^ 

Lsex  did  not  hjsitae;  the  nexwnornng  1     p^        ;^^ 
daybreak,  placing  himself  at  the  head  ol  ^s  f^^^t, 

heWked  the  F'"XLS.?g  bv"u  .is  S  every  co?ps  and 
which  occupied  It.     Engaging  Dyiu  ;  ^t,  and  was  so 

against  every  position,  the  t-^^t^t-if  f^ 'u 'i"'|ecounts  of  the 
vlliantly  disputed  that  both  .Part>es>nthe^  account  ^^^^ 
affray,  took  P'lfe'n  commend jto^^^^^^^^  ^^ J  ^^^ 

were  animated  ^Y  the  hope  of  repamng  a  ^^^^^i^^, 

♦  May,  ut  sup. 


a  victory  which  had  counterpoised  so  many  reverses.     The 
London  militia  in  particular  performed  prodigies  of  valor  • 
twice  did  prince  Rupert,  after  having  broken  the  enemy's 
norse,  charge  them,  without  making  the  least  impression  uiJon 
their  close  ranks,  bristling  with  spears.     The  general  officers, 
bssex,  Skippon,  Stapleton,  Merrick,  exposed  themselves  like 
the  common  soldiers ;  and  the  very  domestics  and  workmen 
and  camp-followers,  rushed  to  the  field,  and  fought  as  bravely 
as  the  bravest  officers.      At  nightfall,  each  army  retained 
Its  position.     Essex,  indeed,  had  somewhat  gained  ground 
but  the  royal  troops  blocked  up  his  passage,  and  he  expected 
to  have  to  renew  the   attack  next  day,  when,  to  his  great 
astonishment,  the  first  rays  of  morning  showed  him  his  enemies 
retreating  and  the  road  clear.     He  hastened  to  make  the  most 
of  this  opportunity,  and  pushing  his  march,  with  no  other 
impediment  than  a  few  fruitless  charges  of  prince  Rupert's 
horse,  arrived  the  next  day  but  one  at  Reading,  clear  of  all 
danger.*  ° 

The  violence  of  this  engagement  had  dispirited  the  royalists, 
not  interior  in  courage  but  far  less  pertinacious  than  their 
adversaries,  and  as  ready  to  despair  as  to  hope.     Their  loss 
moreover,  had  been  great,  and  such  as  ever  makes  the  deepest 
impression  upon  the  imagination  of  a  king.     More  than  twenty 
officers  of  distinction  had  fallen,  some  of  them  illustrious  bv 
their  merit  as  well  as  by  their  rank  :  lord  Sunderland,  scarcely 
twenty-three  years  old,  recently  married,  and  already  endeared 
by  his  qualities  and  opinions  to  all  the  wise  leaders,  to  all  the 
g^d  protestants  of  his  party  ;t  lord  Caernarvon,  an  excellent 
officer,  invaluable  to  the  king  for  the  strict  discipline  he  main- 
tamed,  beloved  by  the  soldiers  for  his  justice,  and  so  scrupu- 
lous  an  observer  of  his  word  that  nothing  could  induce  him  to 
continue  in  the  army  of  the  west  after  prince  Maurice,  who 
commanded  it,  had  violated  the  articles  of  capitulation  made 
with  the  towns  of  Weymouth  and  Dorchester  ;$  lord  Falkland, 
tne  glory  of  the  royalist  party,  a  patriot,  though  proscribed 
at   Londoru   respected   by  the  people,  though  a  minister  at 
«rf^  k •    r  -^^f  ^,^^s  nothing  to  call  him  to  the  field  of  battle, 
ana  nis  triends  had  more  than  once  reproached  him  for  his 

low'f  Memoir's/  ""  ''  '''  '  ^^^'  "^^  ''^  '  Whitelocke,  p.  74  ;    Lud- 


t  Clarendon,  ii.,  524. 


t  lb.  233—235. 


228 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


229 


:  l!li 


i 


ji        *^^^rit-,r  ■    "  Mv  oiRce,"  he  would  answer,  with  a 
:* i    for  &  be.'^g  such'as  to  deprive  me  of  the  privi- 

Satriorand  gay,  had  become  ^"^  and  jmbre; 
inclined  by  taste  and  habit  to  peculiar  elegance  '"  to"ette,  ne 
tad  oflaS^taken  no  care  either  of  his  apparel  or  of  h-  pe^^son 
no  conversation,  no  employment  had  ^"y.!""?^":  .f,^'^  ^e 
him  •  sittine  with  his  friends,  his  head  buried  in  his  hands,  ne 
would     aftfr    a    protracted    silence,    sorrowfully    murmur, 
"Peace-    Peace'"     The  prospect  of  some  negotiation  alone 
reS  him'    On  the  morLg'of  the  battle  those  around  him 
were  astonished  to  find  him  more  cheerful  *an  °his  dr'ess 
seemed  too  to  give  a  long  unwonted  attention  to  his  dress 
"IfTtekUled  to-day,"  said  he,   «  I  would  not  they  should 
It  1  De  Kiiiea  lo  "•'J^'        „     „.   /•  •  „ jg  con  ured  him  to  stay 
find  my  body  in  foul  linen.       His  '"V:°*.^"'  J  ^^      «  No  "  he 
awav  •  sadness  once  more  stole  over  his  features.        INo,    ne 

S^"  I  Im  weary  of  the  times ;  I  foresee  much  misery  o  my 
iry  ;  but  I  be'lieve  I  shall  be  out  of  it  Wore  n^ght,  and 
he  joined  lord  Byron's  regiment  as  a  vo  unteer.  The  acton 
had  scarcely  commenced,  when  a  ball  hit  him  in  the  lower 
n^rt  of  a!  stomach  •  he  fell  from  his  horse,  and  died  without 

out  much  emotion  of  the  death  of  a  man  ^h^^^f  J^^^n  ^ 
their  ways  and  feelings ;  Charles  manifested  decent  regret, 
and  felt  himself  more  at  ease  in  the  council.  . 

Essex  had  just  arrived  at  Readmg,  when  a  deputation  Irom 
both  houses  cfme  to  express  their  gratitude,  to  provide  for  the 
wants  of  his  army,  and  to  inquire  his  wishe(bept^^^2^^^^ 
Not  only  was  the  parliament  saved,  but  it  was  in  a  position 

•  Clarendon,  ii.,  526  ;  Whitelocke,  70 
\  Journals,  Commons ;  Whitelocke,  74. 


think  itself  secure  from  the  recurrence  of  such  perils  as  it  had 
just  escaped.     Equal  success  had  crowned  its  negotiations  • 
while  Essex  and  its  army  were  raising  the  siege  of  Gloucester' 
Vane,  arrived  at  length  in  Edinburgh,  was  perfecting  a  close 
alliance  with  the  Scots.     Under  the  name  of ''  a  solemn  league 
and  covenant,"  a  political  and  religious  treaty,  which  devoted 
to  the  defence  of  the  same  cause  the  united  strength  of  the 
two  kingdoms,  was  voted  on  the  same  day,  by  the  convention 
of  the  states  and  the  general  assembly  of  the  church  of  Scot- 
land (Aug.  17)  ;*  the  next  day,  Scottish  commissioners  set  out 
for  London,  where   both   houses,  after  having  consulted  the 
assembly  of  divines,  also  sanctioned  the  covenant  (Sept.  18)  ;f 
and,  a  week  after  (Sept.  25),  in  the  church  of  St.  Margaret, 
Westminster,   all   the  members  of  parliament,   standing  un- 
covered, with  hands  raised  to  heaven,  took  the  oath  of  ad- 
hesion  to  it,  first  verbally,  and  then  in  writing.:}:    The  covenant 
was  received  in  the  city  with  the  most  fervent  enthusiasm ;  it 
promised  a  reform  of  the  church  and  a  speedy  succor  of  twenty- 
one  thousand  Scots ;  the  presbyterians  thus  at  once  saw  their 
fears  dissipated  and  their  wishes  fulfilled.     The  day  after  the 
ceremony  (Sept.  26),  Essex  made  his  entry  into  London ;  the 
house  of  commons,  preceded  by  the  speaker,  went  m  a  body 
to  Essex-house,  to  compliment  him ;  the  lord  mayor  and  the 
aldermen,   in   scarlet  robes,  came  to  render  thanks  "to  the 
protector  and  defender  of  their  lives  and  fortunes,  and  of  their 
wives  and  children."     The  flags  taken  from  the  royal  army 
at  Newbury  were  exhibited  to  public  view ;  one  in  particular 
attracted  attention,  representing  the  exterior  of  the  house  of 
commons,  with  the  heads  of  two  criminals  figured  above,  and 
this  inscription :    ut  extra,  sic  intra.^     The  people  thronged 
round  these  trophies  ;  the  militia,  who  had  shared  in  the  ex- 
pedition,, related  all  the  details ;  everywhere,  in  domestic  con- 
versations, in  sermons,  in  the  groups  formed  in  the  streets,  the 
name  of  Essex  was  loudly  shouted  or  silently  blessed.     The 
earl  and  his  friends  resolved  to  make  the  most  of  this  triumph. 

*  Burnet,  Mem.  of  the  Hamiltons,  239  ;  Neal,  iii.,  56  ;  Baillie,  i.,  381 

t  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  169. 

X  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  173 ;  Neal,  iii.,  62  ;  Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  475.  The 
covenant  was  signed  by  two  hundred  and  twenty-eight  members  of  the 
commons 

§  Whitelocke,  75. 

20 


230 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


231 


'  :.l 


: 


'•!!' 
■'■'M. 


i 


He  went  to  the  house  of  peers,  tendered  his  resignation,  and 
begged  that  he  might  be  allowed  to  retire  to  the  continent 
(Oct.  7).     No  public  danger,  he  said,  made  it  a  matter  of  duty 
for  him  to  stay ;  he  had  already  endured  too  many  bitter  an- 
noyances in  his  command,  and  he  foresaw  their  speedy  re- 
newal ;  for  if  sir  William  Waller  were  still  to  possess  a  com- 
mission  independent  of  him,  while  the  title  of  general-in-chief 
left  upon  him  alone  the  entire  responsibility,  another  had  the 
right  to  withhold  obedience ;  he  had  too  deeply  experienced  the 
anguish  of  this  situation  longer  to  endure  it.     Upon  this  de- 
claration, the  lords,  astonished,  or  feigning  to  be  so,  resolved 
that  they  would  demand  forthwith  a  conference  with  the  com- 
mons ;    but  at  that  very  moment  a  message  arrived    from 
the   commons  which   rendered    a   conference  unnecessary  ; 
informed  of  what  was  passing,  the  commons  hastened  to  an- 
nounce to  the  lords  that  Waller  offered  to  resign  his  com- 
mission, to  receive,  in  future,  his  instructions  from  the  general- 
in-chief,  and  not  from  the  parliament ;  and  they  requested  the 
appointment  of  a  committee,  which  should  forthwith  settle,  to 
the  earl's  satisfaction,  this  painful-  affair.    The  committee  was 
named,  and  the  matter  settled  ere  the  house  rose.*     Waller 
and  his  friends  submitted  without  a  murmur  ;  Essex  and  his 
triumphed  without  arrogance  ;  and  the  reconciliation  of  parties 
seemed  consummated  at  the  very  moment  the  struggle  was  re- 
commencing. 

*  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  177 ;  Whitelocke,  75 


BOOK  THE  FIFTH. 
1643—1645. 

^*a[^°vf^rH^'%f  i-''^  ""^  the  independents-Proceedings  Of  the  court 
a  Cxford-ni'th'nf  P^'^'^^r"'  ^  ^'"""  ^^*^  ^^e  Irish-Parliament 
mnnr     R^r  r^^^"""*^??"?^'^"  °^  1644-Battle  of  Marston- 

moor-Reverses  of  Essex  m  Cornwall-Misunderstanding  between 
the  Presbyterian  leaders  and  Cromwell-Attempts  at  nelotSn- 
Self-denymg  ordinance-Trial  and  death  of  Laud-NeStions  at 
Uxbridge-Re-organization  of  the  parliamentary  army-Fafrf^  ap- 
pointed  general— Essex  gives  in  his  resignation.  ^ 

The  joy  of  the  Presbyterians  was  at  its  height :  the  parliament  , 
owed  to  their  chief  its  salvation;  their  enemies  were  silenced-  ^ 
the  Scottish  army,  near  at  hand,  promised  them  unfailing 
support ;  they  alone,  consequently,  would  henceforth  dispose 
ot  reform  and  of  war,  and  might  at  their  pleasure  continuVor 
suspend  either. 

Within  the  house,  as  without,  in  London  and  in  the  counties, 
a  ht  of  r^ious  fervor  and  tyranny  soon  manifested  their 
empire.  The  assembly  of  divines  received  orders  to  prepare 
a  plan  of  ecclesiastical  government  (Oct.  12)  ;*  four  Scottish 
ministers  were  summoned  to  work  out,  in  concert  with  the  as- 
sembly, the  great  design  of  the  party— uniformity  of  worship 
m  the  two  countries  (Nov.  20).t  The  committees  appointed 
tc  investigate,  m  each  county,  the  conduct  and  doctrine  of  the 
ecclesiastics  in  office,  redoubled  their  activity  and  rigor  • 
nearly  two  thousand  ministers  were  ejected  from  their  livings  -t 
many,  prosecuted  as  anabaptists,  Brownists,  independents,  &c'.T 
found  themselves  thrown  into  prison  by  the  very  men  who,  a 
short  time  before,  had  cursed  with  them  their  common  perse- 

*Neal,iii.,  123. 
i.,^398%Xn"r,t^^^^^   Rutherford,  Gillespie,  and  Baillie-Baillie, 

thp,T«LT"*^"  ""^  ^i"®  episcopal  party  have  carried  the  number  to  8,000, 
i^th.^u-T'^^  'f  ^"J?^  **  *°  ""^^^  1'600.  The  estimate  I  have  adopted 
"  that  which  results  from  the  information  given  by  Neal,  iii  ,  I1I-113 


232 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGJtrSH   REVOLUTION. 


233 


cutors.     In  the  city,  whoever  refused  to  subscribe  the  covenant 
was  declared  incapable  of  sitting  in  the  common  council,  or 
even  of  voting  at  the  elections  of  common  councilmen  (Dec. 
20).*     The  parliament,  from  the  beginning  of  the  war,  had 
ordered  all  the  theatres  to  be  closed,  without  pronouncing  any 
religious  anathema  against  them  ;  merely  saying,  that  times 
of  public  affliction  should  be  devoted  to  repentance  and  prayer, 
rather  than  to  pleasure  (Sept.  2).t    The  same  prohibition  was 
now  extended  to  all  the  popular  games  hitherto  in  use  on  Sun- 
days and  holidays  throughout  the  kingdom  ;  not  one  was  ex- 
cepted, however  great  its  antiquity,  however  manifest  its  harm- 
lessness.     The  maypoles,  which  for  ages  had  been  erected,  as 
tokens  of  public  joy  at  the  return  of  spring,  were  everywhere 
pulled  down,  and  orders  given  that  no  new  ones  should  be 
erected  ;    and  if  even  children  infringed  these   laws,  their 
parents  expiated  each  ebullition  of  infantine  mirth  by  a  fine.:): 
Archbishop  Laud,  who  had  been  three  years  left  forgotten  in 
prison,  was  all  at  once  called  to  the  bar  of  the  upper  house, 
and  summoned  to  answer  the  charges  of  the  commons  (Nov. 
13).§     Fanaticism  counts  hatred  and  vengeance  among  its 

duties. 

Similar  zeal  was  displayed  for  war :  proud  of  having  had 
so  large  a  share  in  the  late  victories,  the  presbyterians  of  the 
city  no  longer  spoke  of  peace  ;  a  great  number  of  rich  citi- 
zens equipped  soldiers,  and  even  offered  to  serve  in  person. 
One  of  them,  Roland  Wilson,  the  heir  expectant  to  an  im- 
mense business,  and  2000Z.  a  year  in  landed  property,  joined 
Essex's  army  at  the  head  of  a  regiment  levied  at  his  own  ex- 
pense.||  Even  some  of  the  leaders,  who  had  been  so  friendly 
on  all  occasions  to  negotiation.  Holies,  Glynn,  Maynard,  ha- 
rangued the  common  council,  exciting  them  to  their  utmost 
efforts.  Never  had  the  party  appeared  more  energetic,  nor  in 
more  certain  possession  of  power. 

Yet  its  downfal  was  near  at  hand.  Engaged,  from  the  out- 
set, in  a  two-fold  reform,  that  of  the  church  and  that  of  the 
state,  it  did  not  follow  both  in  the  name  of  the  same  views. 
In  religion  its  faith  was  ardent,  its  doctrines  simple,  firm,  con- 
nected.     The  presbyterian  system,  that  government  of  the 

♦  Neal,  iii.,  66.  t  Pari.  Hist,  ii.,  1461. 

t  Neal,  iii.,  139.     The  fine  was  twelvepence. 

I  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  183.  ||  Whitelocke,  76. 


church  by  ministers  equal  among  themselves  and  deliberatine 
m  concert,  was  not,  in  its  eyes,  a  human,  pliant  institution 
which  men  could  modify  at  will,  according  to  time  and  cir 
cumstances-it  was  the  only  legitimate  system,  a  government 
existing  by  divme  right,  even  tJhe  law  of  Christ.     The  party 
insisted  upon  the  triumph  of  this  system  without  limitation,  at 
whatever  price,  as  a  holy  and  indispensable  revolution.     In 
pontics,  on  the  contrary,  notwithstanding  the  harshness  of  its 
acts  and  of  its  language,  its  ideas  were  vague  and  its  inten 
tions  temperate ;  it  was  carried  away  by  no  systematic  belief, 
no  passion  truly  revolutionary ;  it  loved  monarchy  though  it 
fought  against  the  king,  respected  prerogative  though  it  labored 
to  bring  under  subjection  the  crown,  trusted  in  the  commons 
alone,  yet  felt  towards  the  lords  neither  ill-will  nor  contempt, 
obeying  ancient  customs  as  well  as  new  necessities,  forming 
to  Itself  no  precise  views,  either  as  to  the  principles  or  the 
consequences  of  its  conduct,  deeming  its  aim  only  legal  re- 
lorm,  and  wishing  for  nothing  more. 

Thus  agitated  by  contrary^feelings,  by  turns  imperious  and 
wavering   fanatical  and  moderate,  the  presbyterian  party  had 
not  even  leaders  sprung  from  among  its  own  ranks,  and  uni- 
lormiy  animated  by  sentiments  conformable  with  its  own.     It 
followed  in  the  steps  of  the  political  reformers,  the  first  inter- 
preters  and  true  representatives  of  the  national  movement. 
1  he  alliance  was  natural  and  necessary  to  it :  natural,  for 
hey  sought,  in  common  with  itself,  to  reform  and  not  to  abo- 
lish  the  government ;  necessary,  for  they  were  in  possession 
ot  power,  and  maintained  it  by  the  superiority  of  their  rank 
their   wealth,    their  intellect ;    advantages  which    the   most 
ardent  presbyterians  never  thought  of  contesting  with  them. 
Hut  in  accepting,  even,  in  case  of  need,  purchasing  by  greaU 
conces^ons^the  support  of  the  sectaries,  the  majority  of  theU 
pohtical  reformers  did  not  share  their  opinions  or  views  as  toj 
tne  church  ;  a  moderate  episcopacy,   restricted  to  the  legal  I 
administration   of   ecclesiastical    affairs,   would   have   better^! 
suited  them  ;  and  they  accordingly  lent  their  aid  to  the  presJi 
byterians  with  reluctance,  and  secretly  did  all  they  could  to 
retard  their  progress.     The  energy  of  the  party  in  the  reli- 
gious  revolution  was  thus  frustrated  by  leaders  whom  yet  it 
neither  could  nor  would  forsake,  and  their  union  was  only 
complete  and  sincere  on  the  question  of  political  reform,  or,  in 

20* 


234 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


235 


fc 


nthPr  words    in  that  cause  wherein  leaders  andparty  had 
Ser  Lt;c^le-im«s^       satisfy,  noj^^bsomr^ 

''Sluhe  end  of  1643.4KditicaL£e^^^ 
tic"alS"m,Tt^TSrst-was  consuTSmii^IBus^^ 
exiJted     th^y  had  achieved  aU  iheJaWs^heylKo^^ces. 
sa^  and  Sened  instHuiloos^^ 

wI^WiTir tO-comTlete  the  work  wTu^riligJ^bn^^^^^  of 
was -ifv^nimg  F  ^^  ^    j       sectariesdil^e  ctesired 

ancient  ITOerties ,  anQ  tn^,  .^g?Jj^J.^^->^^^;^  wi  S  m  m  T^  i^^  V i  tl-n- 
and  could  in  concert  accpmpfi^.Tl^ut  ^^^^^^^ 
tion  was  scarcely  beg^^I^i:^  poliUca    f^^i^ll'^''^^^^^ 
m-secured,  threatened  trtej56nie  revolution     The  time  then, 
was -at  hand,  in  which  the  internfil  defects  of  the,  till  then, 
Tminant  party,  the  incoherence  of  its  composition,   of  its 
tSes  K  designs,  must  inevitably  become  manifest 
^^eTda;^    was  obliged  to  tread  in  different  paths,  to  attempt 
S-ous  efforts.    What  it  sought  in  the  church  it  rejected 
in  the  state  •  it  was  fain,  constantly  shifting  its  ground  and  its 
T^naLtio  invoke  in  turn  democratic  principles  and  passions 
LgSih^  bishops,  monarchical  and  anstocratical^m^^^^^^^ 
and  influences  against  ^i^i^g  fP^^hcanism     It  was  a  strange 
siffht  to  see  the  same  men  demolishing  with  one  hand  ana 
deWngwith  the  other-now  preaching  up  innovations 
now  Xsfng  the  innovators  ;  alternately  daring  and  timid,  at 
Te  rebelsVnd  despots ;  persecuting  the  bishops  in  the  name 
of  Ubertv  the  indepVndents  in  the  name  of  power  ;  arrogating 
to  tSelves,  in  a  word,  the  privilege  of  insurrection  and 
of  ty^^^^^^^^  daily  declaiming  against  tyranny  and  insur- 

'"The'party,  moreover,  found  itself  at  this  time  forsaken  or 
disowned,  o^r  compromised  by  several  of  its  leaders.     Some 
suXasRudyard,  careful  ab^ve  all  things  of  their  own  self- 
respect,  of  the  ckims  of  virtue,  retired  from  the  conflict   o 
only  appeared  at  long  intervals,  and  then  to  protest  rathei 
£  acT  Others,  les's  honest,  such  as  St.  John  .or  mo^^^^ 
severing  and  bolder,  as  Pym,  or  concerned  chiefly  for  their 
own  pefsonal  safety,  sought  to  conciliate,  or,  at  all  events,  to 
krp^?aTwith  the  new  party,  of  whose  speedy  accession 
foTwer  they  felt  certain.     Many,  already  corrupted    had 
renounced  all  patriotic  hopes;  and  no  longer  trouWing  them, 
selves  about  anything  but  their  own  fortunes,  formed  m  the 


committees  invested  with  the  management  of  affairs  a  rapa- 
cious coalition,  which   distributed  offices,   confiscations,  and 
good  things  of  all  sorts  to  one  another.     Among  the  lords 
hitherto  engaged  in  the  national  cause,  several,  as  we  have 
seen,   had  lately  forsaken  it,  to  go  and  make  their  peace 
at  Oxford  ;  others,  withdrawing  entirely  from  public  affairs, 
retired  to  their  country  seats,  and,  to  avoid  new  pillage,  new 
sequestration,  negotiated  alternately  with  the  court  and  the 
parliament.      On  the  22d  of  September,  only  ten  lords  re- 
mained in  the  upper  house ;  on  the  5th  of  Oclober  but  five.* 
An  order  for  calling  over  the  names  at  each  sitting,!  and  the 
fear  of  thus  having  their  absence  officially  verified"^  brought  a 
few  back  to  Westminster ;  but  the  higher  aristocracy,  daily 
more  suspected  by,  and  more  estranged  from,  the  people,  be- 
came an  incumbrance  rather  than  a  support  to  the  presbyte- 
rians;    and   while  their  religious  fanaticism   alienated  from 
them  able  defenders  of  the  public  liberties,  their  political  mo- 
deration  prevented  them  from  casting  off  uncertain  and  com- 
promising allies. 

Moreover,  the  party  had  been  in  the  ascendant  for  three 
years  :  whether  it  had  or  not,  in  church  or  state,  accomplish- 
ed Its  designs,  it  was  at  all  events  by  its  aid  and  concurrence 
that,  for  three  years,  public  affairs  had  been  conducted ;  this 
alone  was  sufficient  to  make  many  people  weary  of  it ;  it  was 
made  responsible  for  the  many  evils  already  endured, 'for  the 
many  hopes  frustrated  ;  it  was  denounced  as  being  no  less 
addicted  to  persecution  than  the  bishops,  no  less  arbitrary  than 
the  king ;  its  inconsistencies,  its  weaknesses,  were  recalled 
with  bitterness  ;  and  independently  of  this,  even  without  fac- 
tious or  interested  views,  from  the  mere  progress  of  events 
and  opinions,  there  was  felt  a  secret  need  of  new  principles 
and  new  rulers. 

Both  were  ready,  and,  to  seize  the  direction  of  affairs,  only\ 
wanted  an  opportunity.     Long  before  the  commencement  of 
the  troubles,  when  the  presbyterians  began  merely  to  display/ 
an  intention  of  imposing  on  the  national  church  a  republican 

•  Journals,  Lords.  The  ten  lords  present  on  the  22d  of  September, 
were  the  earls  of  Bolingbroke,  Lincoln,  Stamford,  and  Denbigh :  vis- 
Dawe  ^^  *^^  ^^^^^  ^^^^'  Wharton,  Howard,  Hunsdon,  and 

fib. 


236 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


237 


I'.-'i 


I'i 


constitution,  and  to  maintain  in  it,  under  that  form  the  uses 
of  power  as  well  as  of  faith,  and  thus  to  dispute  with  episco- 
pacy  the  heritage  of  popery,  the  independents,  Brownists  ana- 
baptists,  openly  demanded  why  a  national  church  should  ex- 
ist at  all,  and  by  what  title  any  power  whatsoever,  popery, 
episcopacy,  or  presbyterianism,  arrogated  to  itself  the  right 
of  bowincr  down  Christian  consciences  beneath  the  yoke  ot  a 
fallacious  unity.      Every  congregation  of  the  faithful,  said 
they,  inhabitants  of  the  same  or  neighboring  places,  who  as- 
semble freely  together  in  one  common  faith  to  praise  the 
Lord,  was  a  true  church,  over  which  no  other  church  could 
justly  have  authority,  and  which  had  a  right  to  choose  for 
itself  its  own  ministers,  to  regulate  its  own  worship,  to  govern 
itself  by  its  own  laws. 

On  its  first  appearance,  the  principle  of  liberty  of  conscience, 
thus  proclaimed  by  obscure  sectaries,  amidst  the  errors  of  a 
blind  enthusiasm,  was  treated  as  a  crime  or  as  madness.     Its 
asserters  themselves  seemed  to  uphold,  without  understanding 
it,  and  less  from  reason  than  from  necessity.     Episcopalians 
and  presbyterians,  preachers  and  magistrates,  all  alike  pro- 
scribed  it :  the  question  how  and   by  whom  the  church  ot 
Christ  was  to  be  governed,  continued  to  be  almost  the  only 
point  discussed  ;  all  thought  they  had  simply  to  choose  be- 
tween the   absolute    power  of  the   pope,   the  aristocracy  ot 
the  bishops,  and  the  democracy  of  the  presbytenan  clergy  ; 
it  was  not  asked  whether  these  governments  were  legitimate 
in  their  origin,  whatever  their  form  or  appellation. 

There  was,  however,  a  great  movement  agitating  all  things, 
even  those  which  did  not  outwardly  seem  affected  by  it ;  every 
day  brought  forward  some  test  which  no  system  could  evade, 
some  argument  which  the  dominant  party  attempted  in  vam 
to  stifle.  Called  upon,  from  day  to  day,  to  consider  some  new 
aspect  of  human  affairs,  to  discuss  opinions,  to  repel  preten- 
sions till  then  unheard  of,  the  national  mind  by  such  work 
became  emancipated,  and  made  use  of  its  new  liberty,  either 
to  soar  to  more  extended  ideas  on  man  and  society,  or  at  once 
audaciously  to  shake  off  all  old  prejudices,  all  restraint.  At 
the  same  time  practical  liberty,  in  matters  of  faith  and 
worship,  was  almost  absolute  ;  no  jurisdiction,  no  repressive 
authority,  had  yet  taken  the  place  of  that  of  episcopacy  ;  and 
the  parliament,  occupied  in  conquering  its  enemies,  troubled 


; 


itself  very  little  about  the  pious  escapades  of  its  partisans 
Presbytenan  zeal  sometimes  obtained  from  the  hoSLs   me 

Zs^'and'tred'ofir*  n'  T  T'^"^^ '  -"etimeMhe" 
rears  ana  natred  of  the  political  reformers  coinciding?  with 

of  X:  *Sns7  theif'd'  '"'^  ""''°y''  '"  concert  meiut 
01  rigor  against  their  adversaries.     An  ordinance    destined 

acoordmg  to  the  preamble,  "  to  put  down  the  sknderous  oa' 
pe^  books,  and  pamphlets  by  which  religion  andfovernmen; 
had  for  some  time  been  defamed,"  abolished  the  litertvTtTe 
press,  hnherto  tolerated,  and  subjected  4o  a  strict  censoiLho 
all  publications  whatever  (June  11    ]643\  *     n^t  ^f  ^ 

merous,  more  various,  more  ardent,  as  indepLdents  Rrow^" 
ists,  anabaptists,  antip^dobaptists,  qiakerraSmfa'ns  fifth' 

All  questions  henceforward  took  a  new  turn  •  the  <=nn;,I 
fermentation  changed  its  character.  Powerfu"  re'soect  Jfrf 
ditions  had  hitherto  directed  and  restrained  the  vfewsTf  noli". 

oW 'Clanr  °'r'?r^  ^^'■''™^^^'  '°  the  firj  the  lalSf"' 

been  to  h"  1  Jr   .r*  '""''  -^^  '^^^  ^'^g'"*"!  ">«•"  to  have^ 
Been,  to  the  latter,  the  constitution  of  the  church  <!i.rb  Z;* 

abeady  existed  in  Scotland,  Holland,  and  Geneva  served  a 
once  as  a  model  and  a  curb  ;  however  darina  tS  Z,        ■ 

^S"  St  ^'^?-^^^  to  vag.^'^Sr^'!;:;^ -^^p 

t,,r!  ?    .K  ^  u  ""  "°'  '""Oration  in  their  designs,  nor  coniec  i 

1    r  a"e  S':Lv°''"  ',  ff  1"'''^^  '"isconceived'the'tendencTof 
ineir  acts,  they  could  at  least  ass  gn  an  object  in  them      ^To 

toriclforT  ^r"°f  ^  T'  "'  *''^  rivali,To  tradiS,  Si 

Sth'S'Ti,^,™''^  '°.*-'-  ^''-ght;  confident  i^i  its 

in  ™.!,;„  '^        A  \,  ^  ^°^^y  aspirations,  its  holiness,  or  its  dar- 

2f>  they  awarded  to  it  the  right  of  deciding  of  rul-'m.  all 

ref  Av?*^  't'"«  V°'  "'«''  «°'«  g"We,  sougt  at  whafeve 
Pnce,  philosophers  the  truth,  enthusiasts  the  Lord,  7he  frie' 

•Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  131. 


238 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


239 


i 

I- 1 

Vk 


liii!  I. 


■thinkers  mere    success.     Institutions,  laws    customs,  events, 
everything  was  called  upon  to  regulate  itself  accordmg  to  the 
En  or  will  of  man  ;  everything  became  the  subject  of  new 
combinations,  of  learned  creations ;  and  m  this  bold  under- 
tXng  everylhing  seemed  legitimate,  on  the  faith  of  a  princ 
pie  of  a  religioul  ecstasy,  or  in  the  name  of  necessity.     The 
Presbyterian!  proscribed  royalty  and  aristocracy  in  the  church ; 
why  retain  them  in  the  state  ?     The  political  reformers  had 
intimated  their  opinion,  that  if,  in  the  last  resort,  the  king  or 
he  lords  obstinately  persisted  in  refusing  their  assent  to  a 
beneficial  measure,  the  will  of  the  commons  ought  of  its  own 
authority,  to  carry  the  point ;  why  not  say  this  distinctly  and 
onenlv  »     Why  invoke  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  only  in 
a  desperate  case  and  to  legitimate  resistance,  when  't  ought  to 
"  be  the  basis  of  government  itself  and  of  legitimate  power  ? 
After  having  shaken  off  the  yoke  of  the  popish  and  of  the 
episcopal  clergy,  the  nation  was  in  danger  of  undergoing  that 
■-.  of  the  presbytlrian  clergy.     What  was  the  good  of  a  clergy  ? 
by  what  right  did  priests  form  a  permanent,  rich,  and  inde- 
pendent body,  authorized  to  claim  the  aid  of  the  magistrate  ? 
Let  all  iurisdiction,  even  the  power  of  excommunication,  be 
withdrawn  from  them  ;  let  persuasion,  preaching,  teaching, 
nraver  be  the  only  sources  of  influence  left  to  them,  and  al 
abuse  of  spiritual  authority,  all  difficulty  in  making  it  accord 
perfectly  with  the  civil  power,  would  immediately  cease.     He- 
sides,  'tis  in  the  faithful,  not  in  the  priests,  that  legitimate 
power,  in  matters  of  faith,  resides:  'tis  to  the  faithful  it  ap- 
pertains  to  choose  and  appoint  their  ministers,  and  not  to  the 
ministers  to  appoint  one  another,  and  then  impose  themselves 
on  the  faithful.     Nay,  is  not  every  one  of  the  faithful  a  minis- 
ter  himself,  for  himself,  for  his  family  for  all  those  Christian  , 
who,  touched  by  his  words,  shall  hold  him  inspired    rom  on 
high,  and  shall  be  willing  to  unite  with  him  m  prayer  ?    Who 
would  dare  contest  with  the  Lord  the  power  of  conferring  his 
sifts  on  whom  he  pleases  and  as  he  pleases  ?     Whether  to 
preach  or  to  fight,  it  is  the  Lord  alone  who  chooses  and  con- 
■  secrates  his  saints  ;  and  when  he  has  chosen  them,  he  entrusts 
to  them  his  cause,  and   reveals  to  them  alone  by  what  mearii, 
it  shall  triumph.     The  free-thinkers  applauded  this  language : 
so  that  the  revolution  was  carried  out,  no  matter  to  them  b) 
what  means,  or  from  what  motives. 


Thus  arose  the  party  of  the  independents,  far  less  nume- 
rous, far  less  deeply  rooted  in  the  national  soil  than  that  of  the 
Presbyterians,  but  already  possessed  of  that  ascendency  ever 
achieved  by  a  systematic  and  definite  principle,  always  ready 
to  give  an  account  of  itself,  and  to  bear  without  flinching  all 
consequences.  England  was  then  in  one  of  those  glorious 
and  formidable  crises,  in  which  man,  forgetting  his  weakness, 


remembering  only  his  dignity,  has  at  once  the'' sublime  ambi'l 

le  of  attri-/ 


tion  of  obeymg  pure  truth  alone,  and  the  insane  pride  ui  am  u 
butmg  to  his  own  opinions  all  the  rights  of  truth.     Politicians 
or  sectaries,  presbyterians  or  independents,  no   party  would 
have  dared  to  think  itself  above  the  obligation  of  haVina  right 
on  Its  side,  and  being  able  to  prove  it.     Now  the  presbvteri- 
ans  were  not  equal  to  this  test,  for  their  wisdom  was  founded 
on  the  authority  of  traditions  and   laws,  not  upon  principles, 
and  they  could  not   repel  by  mere  reason  the  arguments  of 
their  rivals.     The  independents  alone  professed  a  simple  doc- 
trine, strict  m  appearance,  which   sanctioned  all  their  acts, 
sufficed  for  all  the  wants  of  their  situation,  relieved  the  strong, 
minded  from  inconsistency,  the  sincere  from  hypocrisy.  They 
alone  also  began  to  pronounce  some  of  those  potent  words, 
which   well  or  ill-understood,  arouse,  in  the  name  of  its  no- 
bJest  hopes,  the  most  energetic  passions  of  the  human  heart  • 
equality  of  rights,  the  just  distribution  of  social  property,  the 
destruct^ion  of  all  abuses.     There  was  no  contradiction  be- 
tween their  religious  and  political  systems  ;  no  secret  strug- 
gie  between  the  leaders  and  their  men  ;  no  exclusive  creed, 
no  rigorous  test  rendered  access  to  the  party  difficult ;  like 
he  sect   from  which   they  had  taken  their  name,  they  held 
liberty  of  conscience  a  fundamental  maxim,  and  the  immen- 
sity  ot  the  reforms  they  proposed,  the  vast  uncertainty  of  their 
aesigns  allowed  men  of  the  most  various  objects  to  range  be- 
neath  their  banners  ;  lawyers  joined  them,  in  hopes  of  depriv- 
ing the  ecclesiastics,  their  rivals,  of  all  jurisdiction  and  power  • 
liberal  publicists  contemplated  by  their  aid  the  formation  of  a 
new,  clear,  simple  plan  of  legislation,  which  should  take  from 
lawyers  their  enormous  profits  and  their  immoderate  power 
rt^uaaa^ton  could  dream   among  them  of  a  society  of  sages  : 
J^,  of  the  liberty  of  Sparta  or  of  Rome  ;  Lilburne  of  the 
restoration  of  the  old  Saxon  laws  ;  Haniapn,  of-thfe'^oming  of 
.^nrist;  even  the  no-principle  of  Henry   Martyn    and   Peter 


■•! 


240 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REV0H7TI0N. 


241 


'0 


;m 


Wentworth  was  tolerated  in  consideration  of  its  daring  :  re- 
pubUcI^sor  levellers,  reasoners  or  visionaries,  fanatics  or  men 
of  amWtion,  all  were  admitted  to  make  a  common  stock  of 
tLr  anger  their  theories,  their  ecstatic  dreams,  their  m- 
trieues  H  was  enough  that  all,  animated  with  equal  hatred 
aSt'the  cavaliers%nd  against  the  presbyterians  would 
rusTon  with  the  same  fervor  towards  that  unknown  futurity 
which  was  to  satisfy  so  many  expectations.  ,    ^  ,, 

No  vTotory  of  Essex  and  his  friends,  on  the  battle  field,  or 
inWestminLr-hall,  could  stifle  or  even  long  -P^e- ^uch 
dissensions ;  they  were  as  publicly  known  at  Oxtord  a^  in 
London  ;  a^d  alf  sagacious  men,  P-liamentarians  or  roya  sts 
took  them  for  the  basis  of  their  combinations.  From  all  sides 
Ae  Wngreceived  information  of,  and  was  urged  to  profit  by 

hem  Courtiers  or  ministers,  intriguers  or  sincere  friends, 
each  had  his  private  intelligence  on  the  subject,  his  proposals, 
btrsuffffestions  •  some  urged  that  war  should  be  pushed  for 

w  rfwTho  "rnlerruption,Lrtain  that  the  riv;al  faction  would 

soon  listen  rather  to  their  private  «"""'««  '!'^V°*'^"'':^T: 
mon  danger ;  others,  on  the  contrary,  advised  that,  by  the 
mediatbn^f  the  lords  who  had  sought  refuge  at  Oxford  par 
Ucu^^r  y  the  earls  of  Holland  and  Bedford,  negotiations  should 
b^  opened  up  with  Essex  and  his  party,  who,  m  point  of  fact 
had  never  ce^ased  to  desire  peace  ;  others  even  P^PO^^d  "^«,kmf 
advances  to  the  leaders,  already  well  known  of  the  independ 
ents  with  whom,  they  said,  better  terms  could  be  made  ,  and 
ford  Lovelace,  with  the  king's  consent,  kept  up  a  close  corres- 
^ndence  w^^^^  sir  Harry  Vane,  little  thinking  that  Vane    on 
his  side,  was  acting  under  the  instructions  of  his  own  party 
f  "orde;  to  ascertain  the  state  of  things  at  court.     But  none  of 
these  counsels  were  adopted.*     It  was  with  great  difficulty  that 
heTorfs  who  had  deserted  pariiament,  obtained  admission  to 
Oxford  at  all ;  at  the  first  rumor  of  their  approach,  general 
indignation  was  loudly  expressed  against  them ;  the  privy 
council  solemnly  assembled,  deliberated  at  gf  ^^  \ength  as  to 
what  reception  should  be  given  them  and,  notw.thstanchng  the 
prudent  representations  of  Hyde,  who  had  recently  been  ap- 
Kd  chancellor  of  the  exchequer,  Charles,  though  he  con- 
^nted  to  receive  them,  decided  that  they  should  be  cool^ 
treated.t     In  vain  did   lord  Holland,  the  most  elegant  and 
•  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  199 ;  Whitelocke,  SO.         ♦  Clarendon,  ii.,  489. 


shrewdest  of  courtiers,  contrive,  by  the  aid  of  Mr.  Jermvn  to 
regain  the  queen's  favor;*  in  vain  did  he  exert  all  h^ wl 
nuity  to  resume  his  former  familiarity  with  the  king  n?w 
affecting  to  whisper  in  his  ear,  now  succeeding  under  s^Z 
pretext,  m  drawing  him  into  the  embrasure  of^a  window  so 
as  to  have  the  opportunity,  or  at  least  to  give  himsdf  1^ 

^errhSa»Kr;rdrf ht^  ^ 

teer,.  and  o^.r  ,uSZ'7L%,%Tl'':S'eZ'^^^^^^ 

,1  ?n^  fl"'"T'^  '^'  .^\"«'"y  '^'^^^  of  the  king    nor  puf  a 
stop  to    he  clamors  of  the  court;  and  finding  their  servteet 

CTeyZtuC:''  ''^  'f^''  '"'''  now  Wcons™d 

Th:  afctLtf  atigru^wt^eTeteKthV  '"f  °"- 
but  with  as  littleeffectf  the  ill  sLL^r'fThlTet  ^Sote":' 
ter  had  thrown  Oxford  into  a  state  of  impotent  anarch vfnH 
cabal ;  each  blamed  the  other  for  that  fate  lentS^  2t 
counci  complamed  of  the  disorderly  conduct  of  the  armv  •  th! 
army  msolently  defied  the  councH ;    prince  Rupert    fhou^h 
formally  exempted  from  obeying  even  on  a  dav  of  h!«i     ^ 
person  but  the  king  himself,^    '^'elnlAl  ^lU'S' 
chief,-  the  general  and  great  lords  murmured  loudly  aSi^"; 
the  independence  and  churiish  uncouthness  of  prince  rS 

lt;^"'f^^°  respected,  in  the  person  of  his  nephews'^h; 
dignity  of  his  own  blood,  could  not  brimr  him«lf  .!  j     -j 
aga  nst  them  in  favor  of  a  subject,  and  saf riSf  to   hifridt 

ri  nds  "■'Hvdl  ,"^'?'  7*^"  '}'  '''''"'''  °f  his  most  useful" 
mends.  Hyde  alone  freely  endeavored  to  correct  these  errors 
m  his  sovereign,  and  sometimes  with  success :  but  Hvde  hT 

SXch^hf '  ffi  ""'  "'''I?"'  «"y  distinction'oiSS^yoni 
asains^thl  ^^  ^^^^  '""'  "^^^^^  *«  king  tosuppSrt  hfrn 

against  the  queen's  temper,  or  the  intrigues  If  jealous  cour 
tiers ;  he  maintained  his  reputation  as  an  influent  alcouncZ; 

t  thoutVar-   '"'  ^'*°"*  ^^^^'='^■"8  ^y  '«-!  ascendetc?' 

^  great  at  O^/  T^  ""P?""'!'  '■"^""-     '"  ^^ort,  discord  wJs 
as  great  at  Oxford  as  at  London,  and  far  more  fatal-  for  in   , 
London  It  precipitated,  at  Oxford  it  paralysed  the  progret  o?  / 

It  was  amidst  such  embarrassments,  and  When,  in  his  heart, 


•  Clarendon,  ii.,  203;  256. 

21 


t  lb.,  498. 


t  lb.,  63. 


•  ''■ 


l;::i 


242 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


,rt' 


li.    i;'      'I 


|»i 


he  was  perhaps  as  tired  of  his  party  as  he  was  of  h  s  people, 
that  Charles  learned  the  new  alliance  between  Scotland  and 
tte  parliament,  and  that  thus  another  of  his  kingdoms  was  pre- 
paring to  make  war  against  him.     He  forthwith  ordered  the 
duke  of  Hamilton,  who,  having  regamed  his  confidence  had 
been  appointed  his  commissioner  at  Bdmburgh,  to  prevent  this 
unL  at  whatever  cost.     The  duke,  it  is  said  was  empowered 
to  propose  that,  for  the  future,  a  third  of  the  offices  in  the  royal 
household  should  be  secured  to  the  Scots  ;  that  the  counties 
of  Northumberland,  Westmoreland,  and  Cumberland,  former  y 
belonging  to  their  territory,  should  be  again  annexed  to  it ; 
that  the  ling  himself  should  fi.x  his  residence  at  Newcastle, 
and  the  prince  of  Wales  establish  himself  and  court  in  Scot- 
land.*     Such  promises,  if  indeed  they  were  made,  were  obvu 
ously  insincere,  obviously  incapable  of  accomplishment,  and 
even  had  the  Scottish  parliament  been  disposed  to  regard  them 
as  other  than  a  mere  attempt  to  deceive,  a  recent  event  ren- 
dered  such  a  delusion  impossible.     The  earl  of  Antrim  had 
just  been  arrested  in  Ireland  by  the  Scottish  troops  quartered 
in  Ulster,  a  few  hours  after  his  disembarkation ;  and  on  his 
person  had  been  found  the  proofs  of  a  plan  formed  between 
kontrose  and  him,  during  their  stay  with  t^ie  q"«/=n  Y°v  n 
to  transport  into  Scotland  a  numerous  body  of  Irish  Roman 
catholics,  to  raise  the  highlanders  of  the  north   and  thus  make 
a  powerful  diversion  in^favor  of  the  king.     The  design  was 
evidently  on  the  point  of  being  carried  into  execution,  for 
Montrose  had  rejoined  the  king  during  the  siege  of  Qlo"cestc  , 
and  Antrim  had  just  come  from  Oxford.     As  on  the  occasion 
of  his  last  journey  to  Scotland,  the  king  then  was  meditating 
the  darkest  designs  against  his  subjects,  ^t  the  very  moment 
he  was  making  them  the  most  glowing  proposals,      ihe  par- 
liament at  Edinburgh  forthwith  concluded   "s  treaty  with 
that  at  Westminster,  and  sent  information  of  all  these  pai- 

'"'it^t'^^smitted  at  the  same  time  details  of  a  still  more  im- 
portant discovery  it  had  made  ;  lord  Antrim's  papers  showed 
pretty  manifestly  that  the  king  was  maintaining  a  consun 
correspondence  with  the  Irish  rebels ;  that  he  had  several  times 
received  their  proposals,  their  offers ;  that  he  was  even  on  the 

*  Burnet,  Own  Times  (Oxford,  1823),  i.,  61. 
t  Laing,  Hist,  of  Scotland,  iii.,  256. 


ENGLISH   BEVOLUTION. 


243 


M.  Li  ,■""!"  ";"  "'eW  iTO.    Charle.  paid  nulfH. 

th™nrnf  n  \?'''I  *'•"  ^''^  P^°visions,  and  t^k  from 

knd  a„,,oerats  by  situation,  were  attached  ?oepSoLj  and 
numLrnnh'  ""'  l™^  '■^'='^°"^'>  ^-"""g  i'«  officers  aLeat 
Ss  to  It  "".^"T.u^  '="^^''^^^'  P^riiament  had  ten 
eenpr«l  ^  ^".'^  °"«  °f  "i^  way;  the  earl  of  Ormond,  their 
general,  was  rich,  brave,  generous,  and  popular;  he  gained 

*  ^?'''g.  Hist,  of  Scotland,  iii.,  256 
Life  of'ormo^5™- ""^^  "'''.''  '""<'  Ormond  leaves  no  doubt  of  it  •  Carte's 

§  Carte's  Life  of  Ormond,  ii.,  appendix  3,  5. 


ill 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


245 


'■.ii 


to 

iiiNiiinr 


244 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


Ireland     the  magistrates  who  were  devoted  to  it  were  replaced 
ly'^;lus.s :  t4ar.la.ent^sent  overawe  .e^ 

Tror„T=e"  thl  ;:  X"thrcounca,  and  at   he  end 
7L  months  felt  himself  ^-^^^^f  ,  ^Sary^  P^^^^^ 
r  froln"  tS  S      SeUioft: '4,  who, reUeTed^ f^tn 

IZI  itirs  th'e'hideous  excesses  of  '^rrfr^Z^y'i^^oe 
«^„^r.;i  nf  twpntv-four,  established  at  Kilkenny  ^siiice 
N^  14  1642)  g  verLd  it' with  prudence  and  regularUy  ; 
Sreadv  more  than  once  it  had  addressed  dutiful  and  affection- 
t  e  messres  o  the  king,  entreating  him  no  longer  to  perse- 
riTr  tt^r^-ure  of  fnemies^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

"^T^ch  rfiS  .\7trmig  t,^Aast:  t^rughi 

XwWrish  ie  av'or!  and  reliUo  England  the  troops 
whTfou' ht  ao^ainst  them  in  his  name,  to  employ  them  against 
more  ^fous  and  more  formidable  rebels.  Ormond  received 
OTders  to  open  negotiations  to  this  effect  with  the  eoune.l  of 
Knkenny,ra"d  m'eanwhile,  to  P-^^e  the  reason  or  at  Ic^ 
the  excuse  of  necessity,  nothing  was  talked  of  but  the  distress, 
real  enough  for  that  matter,  to  which  the  protestant  cause  and 

hs  defenders  were  reduced  in  Ireland.  /"  ^ '""g  "f  ^P^J^' 
rpmonstrance  addressed  to  the  castle  of  Dublin,  the  army  set 
foXu  its  grievances,  all  its  misery,  and  declared  its  resolu- 
t°on  of  quittiL  a  service  to  which  it  was  prevented  from  doing 
ustice^    Memorials  sent  to  Oxford  and  London  conveyed  to 


•  The  battles  of  Kilrush  and  Ross. 

t  Goodwin  and__Repolds,  m  the  au  -n  of   642 


t  Goodwin  and  Reynolds,  in  ine  auiuuux  ^   -™-  negotia- 

X  Ormond's  commission  was  dated  January  11th    1^^^^^         negou 
tions  began  in  the  course  of  the  month  of  March  following. 


the  king  and  to  parliament  the  same  declaration  and  the  same 
complaints.*  The  negotiations  proceeded ;  at  the  period  of 
Antrim's  arrest  they  were  on  the  very  point  of  being  con- 
eluded ;  and  towards  the  end  of  September,  a  few  days  before 
that  on  which  parliament  solemnly  accepted  at  Westminster 
the  covenant  with  Scotland,  England  learned  that  the  king  had 
just  signed  a  truce  of  a  year  with  the  Irish  rebelsjf  that  the 
English  troops  who  had  been  sent  to  repress  the  insurrection 
were  recalled,  and  that  ten  regiments  would  shortly  land,  five 
at  Chester  and  five  at  Bristol.  J 

A  violent  clamor  arose  on  all  sides  ;  the  Irish  were  to  the 
English   objects   of  contempt,    aversion,   and   terror.     Even 
among  the  royalists,  and  within  the  very  walls  of  Oxford,  dis- 
content was  manifested.     Several  officers  quitted  lord  New- 
castle's  army,   and   made   their  submission    to    parliament.^ 
Lord  Holland   returned  to  London,  saying,  that  the  papists 
decidedly  prevailed  at  Oxford,  and  that  his  conscience  did  not 
allow  him   to   remain   there    any  longer.  ||     Lords   Bedford, 
Clare,  and  Paget,  sir  Edward  Bering,  and  several  other  gen- 
tlemen, followed  his  example,  covering  with  the  same  pretext 
their  fickleness  or  their  cowardice. IT     The  parliament   was 
quite  ready  to  receive  back  the  penitents.     The  king's  con- 
duct became  the  subject  of  all  sorts  of  popular  invectives  and 
sarcasms  ;  his  so  recent  protestations  were  called  to  mind,  and 
the  so  haughty  tone  of  his  answers,  when  complaints  had  been 
made  of  the  correspondence  between  the  court  and  the  rebels  ; 
every  one  took  credit  to  himself  for  having  so  sagaciously 
foreseen  his  secret  practices,  and  was  indignant  at  his  having 
flattered  himself  he  could  thus  impose   upon  his  people,  or 
imagine  such  gross  want  of  faith  could  meet  with  success.     It 
was  much  worse  when  it  became  known  that  a  considerable 
number  of  Irish  papists  were  among  the  recalled  troops ;  and 
that  even  women,   armed  with  long  knives,  and   attired  in 
savage  costume,  had  been  seen  in  their  ranks.**     Not  content 
with  leaving  the  massacre  of  the  Irish  protestants  unavenged, 
the  king  then  was  actually  enlisting  in  his  service  the  fero- 
cious assassins  of  the  English    protestants.     Many   people, 

*  Rushworth,  vi.,  537,  and  following. 

t  Signed  Sept.  5,  1643,  at  Sigginstown,  in  the  county  of  Kildare. 
t  Godwin,  Hist,  of  the  Commonwealth,  i.,  279.       &  Whitelocke,  76. 
11  lb.  H  lb.,  81 ;  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  189.  **  Whitelocke,  82. 

21* 


■t» 


246 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH  REVOLUTION. 


247 


even  of  a  condition  superior  to  the  passionate  prejudices  of 
the  multitude,  thenceforth  bore  towards  the  king  a  profound 
hatred,  some  because  of  his  duplicity,  others  on  account  of 
the  favor  he  showed  to  the  odious  papists  ;  and  his  name, 
hitherto  respected,  was  now  frequently  mentioned  with  insult. 
Speedily  informed  of  this  state  of  things  and  of  the  en- 
deavors of  parliament  to  fan  the  flame,  Charles,  feeling  in- 
sulted that  any  one  should  dare  to  judge  of  his  intentions  by 
his  acts  instead  of  by  his  words,  sent,  in  a  state  of  high  indig- 
nation, for  Hyde,  and  said  he  thought  there  was  too  much 
honor  done  to  those  rebels  at  Westminster  in  all  his  declara- 
tions, by  his  mentioning  them  as  part  of  the  parliament, 
which,  as  long  as  they  should  be  thought  to  be,  they  would 
have  more  authority,  assembled  where  they  were  first  called, 
than  all  the  other  members  convened  anywhere  else.  He 
said  the  act  for  their  continuance  was  void  from  the  begin- 
ning, for  that  a  king  had  it  not  in  his  power  to  bar  himself 
from  the  prerogatives  of  dissolving  parliament ;  and,  at  all 
events,  that  they  had  forfeited  any  right  by  their  rebellion, 
and  he  therefore  desired  a  proclamation  to  be  prepared, 
declaring  them  actually  dissolved,  and  expressly  forbidding 
them  to  meet,  or  any  one  to  own  them  or  submit  to  them  as 
a  parliament.  Hyde  listened  with  astonishment  and  anxiety; 
for  the  mere  idea  of  such  a  measure  appeared  to  him  insanity. 
"  I  see,"  he  replied,  *'  your  majesty  has  well  considered  the 
argument,  which  I  have  not.  It  is  one  which  calls  for  very 
serious  reflection.  For  my  own  part,  I  cannot  imagine  that 
your  majesty's  forbidding  them  to  meet  any  more  at  Westmin- 
ster, will  prevent  one  man  the  less  going  there.  On  the  con- 
trary, your  prohibition  may  have  the  effect  of  bringing  back 
to  them  many  who  have  severed  from  them.  It  may  be  that 
the  act  in  question  is  void,  and  I  am  inclined  to  hope  so  ;  but 
till  the  parliament  itself  shall  declare  this,  no  judge,  much 
less  no  private  man,  will  declare  such  invalidity.  It  was  the 
first  powerful  reproach  they  corrupted  the  people  with  against 
your  majesty,  that  you  intended  to  dissolve  this  parliament, 
and  in  the  same  way,  repeal  all  the  other  acts  made  by  that 
parliament,  whereof  some  are  very  precious  to  the  people. 
As  your  majesty  has  always  disclaimed  any  such  thought, 
such  a  proclamation  now  would  confirm  all  the  jealousies  and 
fears  so  excited,  and  trouble  many  of  your  true  subjects.     I 


conjure  your  majesty  to  reflect  seriously  before  you  carry  this 
design  any  further."* 

As  soon  as  they  heard  how  frankly  Hyde  had  spoken  to 
the  kmg,  nearly  all  the  members  of  the  council  expressed 
their  concurrence  in  his  opinion.     With  all  his  haughtiness, 
Charles,  m  their  company,  was  wavering  and  timid  ;  objec- 
tions  embarrassed  him,  and  he  usually  gave  way,  not  knowing 
what  to  answer,  or  how  to  put  an  end,  even  with  his  own 
council,  to  discussions  which  displeased  him.     After  a  few 
days  of  hesitation,  more  apparent  than  real,  the  project  was 
abandoned.     Yet  some  decisive  measure  seemed  necessary,  if 
only  to  keep  the  royalist  party  on  the  alert,  and  not  to  leave 
the  parliament,  in  this  interval  of  peace,  the  advantage  of 
engrossing  the  impatient  activity  of  men's  minds.     Some  one 
proposed,  since  the  name  of  parliament  exercised  such  an  in- 
fluence over  the  people,  to  assemble  at  Oxford  all  those  mem- 
bers of  both  houses  who  had  withdrawn   from  Westminster 
Hall,  and  thus  oppose  to  a  factious  and  broken-up  parliament, 
a  parliament  undoubtedly  legal  and  regular,  since  the  king 
would  form  part  of  it.     The  proposal  did  not  please  Charles ; 
a  parliament,  however  royalist,  was  matter  of  suspicion  and 
distaste  to  him  ;  he  must  then  listen  to  its  counsels,  be  subject 
to  its  influence,  perhaps  condescend  to  its  desires  for  peace, 
and  so  compromise,  in  his  opinion,  the  honor  of  the  throne. 
The  queen's  opposition  was  still  more  decided ;  an  English 
assembly,  whatever  its  zeal  for  the  royal  cause,  could  not  fail 
to  be  adverse  to  the  catholics  and  her  favorites.     Yet  the  pro- 
posal once  known,  it  was  difficult  to  reject  it ;  the  royalist 
party  had  received  it  with  transport ;  even  the  council  forcibly 
urged  its  advantages,  the  subsidies  which  the  new  parliament 
would  vote  to  the  king,  the  discredit  into  which  that  at  West- 
minster would  fall,  when  it  should  be  seen  how  many  members 
had  quitted  it.     Charles,  accordingly,  despite  his  own  repug- 
nance, assented  ;  and  such  was  the  tendency  of  public  feel- 
ing, that  the  intention  of  dissolving  a  rebellious  parliament 
had  for  its  sole  effect  the  formation  of  a  second  parliament.f 

The  measure  at  first  caused  some  anxiety  in  London ;  it 
was  known  that  the  royalist  party  were  at  the  same  time  re- 

*  Clarendon,  Memoirs,  206. 

t  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  194.    The  royal  proclamation  convoking  the  par- 
liament at  Oxford,  bears  date  22d  of  December,  1643. 


248 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


newing  their  attempts  in  the  city  ;  that  it  was  in  contemplation 
to  negotiate  a  treaty  of  peace  directly  with  the  citizens,  with- 
out the  intervention  of  parliament ;  that  tlie  basis  of  this  treaty 
was  already  agreed  upon,  amongst  others  the  acknowledgment 
of  the  loans  effected  in  the  city,  the  interest  upon  which  was 
very  irregularly  paid  by  parliament,  and  which  the  king  rea- 
dily offered  to  guarantee  the  prompt  liquidation  of.*  Out  of 
London,  another  plot  was  also  discovered,  formed  it  is  said  by 
the  moderate  party  and  a  few  obscure  independents,  to  pre- 
vent the  entry  of  the  Scots  into  England,  and  to  shake  off  the 
yoke  of  the  presbyterians,f  no  matter  at  what  price.  The 
commons,  lastly,  had  to  deplore  the  loss  of  the  oldest  and  per- 
haps most  useful  of  their  leaders  :  Pym  had  just  expired  (Dec. 
8),  after  a  few  days'  illness — a  man  of  a  reputation  less  bril- 
liant than  that  of  Hampden,  but  who,  both  in  private  delibe- 
rations and  in  public  debate,  had  rendered  the  party  services 
no  less  important ;  firm,  patient,  and  able  ;  skilful  in  attack- 
ing an  enemy,  in  directing  a  debate  or  an  intrigue,  in  exciting 
the  anger  of  the  people,  and  in  securing  and  fixing  to  his 
cause  the  great  lords  who  seemed  wavering  ;:j:  an  indefatigable 
member  of  almost  every  committee,  the  framer  of  well  nigh 
all  the  decisive  measures  of  his  party,  ever  ready  to  undertake 
duties  which  others  avoided  as  difficult  and  troublesome  ;  in 
a  word,  regardless  of  labor,  annoyances,  wealth,  glory,  he 
placed  his  whole  ambition  in  the  success  of  his  party.  A 
little  before  his  illness,  he  published  a  justification  of  his  con- 
duct, especially  addressed  to  the  friends  of  order  and  peace, 
as  if  he  felt  some  regret  for  the  past,  and  in  secret  feared  lest 
he  should  be  blamed  for  the  events  of  the  future. §  But  death 
spared  him,  as  it  had  done  Hampden,  the  pain  of  going  beyond 
his  opinions,  on  the  one  hand,  or  belying  his  past  life,  on  the 
other  ;  and  far  from  malevolently  pointing  out  these  slight  in- 
dications of  doubt  in  the  last  days  of  this  veteran  of  national 
reform,  the  men  who  were  preparing  to  eenvort  reform  mto 
revolution,  Cromwell,  Vane,  Haslerig,  were  the  first  to  show 
honor  to  his  memory  :  Pym's  body  lay  for  several  days  in 
public,  either  to  gratify  the  wish  of  the  people  who  crowded  to 
view  it,  or  to  contradict  the  report  spread  by  the  royalists,  that 

•  Pari.  Hist.,  iii. ;  Milton,  Hist,  of  England,  book  iii. 

t  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  200 ;  Whitelocke,  79.        X  Clarendon,  ii.,  693. 

§  See  Appendix,  x. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


249 


he  died  of  the  pedicular  disease  ;  a  committee  was  ordered  to 
inquire  into  the  state  of  his  fortune,  and  to  erect  a  monument 
to  him  m  Westmmster  Abbey  ;  the  whole  house  attended  his 
funeral,  and  a  few  days  afler,  undertook  the  payment  of  his 
debts,  amounting  to  10,000/.,  all  having  been  contracted,  as 
they  said,  in  the  service  of  his  country.* 

On  the  same  day  that  the  commons  passed  these  resolu- 
tions, a  deputation  from  the  city  common  council  proceeded 
to  the  house  of  lords  to  return  thanks  to  parliament  for  its 
energy,  and  the  lord  general  for  his  bravery,  to  renew  before 
il  the  oath  to  live  and  die  in  its  holy  cause,  and  to  invite  all 

i/.J^xT  ^""^  ^"^  ^  S^and  dinner,  in  token  of  union  (Jan.  13, 
lo44).j  ^  ' 

The  parliament  resumed  all  its  confidence.     On  the  very 
day  when  the  assembly   at   Oxford  was  to  meet  (22  Jan  ( 
there  was  a  call  of  the  house  at  Westminster  :  only  twenty' 
two  lords  sat  in  the  upper  house,  but  in  the  commons  two 
hundred  and  eighty  members  answered  to  their  names,  and  of 
the  absentees  a  hundred  were  engaged  in  the  public  service 
by  order  of  parliament.+     Both  houses   resolved  that  they 
would  not  allow  their  rights  to  be  put  in  question,  and  that 
tney  would  reject  with  contempt  any  correspondence  with  the 
rivals  who  were  opposed  to  them.     An  opportunity  soon  pre- 
sented itself.     A  week  had   scarcely  elapsed,  when  Essex 
transmitted  to  the  upper  house,  without  having  opened  it,  a 
packet  which  the  earl  of  Forth,  the  general-in-chief  of  the 
royal  army,  had  just  forwarded  to  him.     A  committee  was 
appointed  to  examine  its  contents  ;  its  report  was  prompt  and 
briet ;  the  packet,  it  is  said,  contained  nothing  addressed  to 
parliament,  and  the  lord  general  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  send 
It  back.     Essex  at  once  obeyed  (1  Feb.)§ 

It  was,  indeed,  to  him  alone  that  the  despatch  was  addressed, 
rorty.five  lords,  and  one  hundred  and  eighteen  members  of 
the  commons,||  assembled  at  Oxford,  informed  him  of  their 

!  S^^}-  ^l^t,  iii.,  186.  t  lb.,  187,  198  ;  Whitelocke,  80. 

+  Pari.  Hist.,  199;  Whitelocke,  ut  sup.  §  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  201 

II  The  prince  of  Wales  and  the  duke  of  York  were  at  the  head  of 
inis  list,  which  was  afterwards  augmented  by  the  names  of  five  lords 
and  twenty-three  members  of  the  lower  house,  who  were  not  at  Ox- 
lord  when  the  letter  was  sent.  There  were  reckoned,  in  addition  to 
inese,  twenty-two  lords  absent  on  the  king's  service,  nine  travelling 
on  the  continent,  two  in  prison  in  London,  as  royalists,  and  thirty -four 


250 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


installation,  of  their  wishes  for  peace,  of  the  king  s  favorable 
disposition,  and  urged  him  to  employ  his  influence  "to  incline 
also  to  peace  those  whose  confidence  he  possessed.  By 

these  words  were  designated  the  houses  at  Westminster, 
whom  Charles  persisted  in  no  longer  recognizing  as  a  par- 
liament. 1     J    T^ 

On  the  18th  of  February,  another  letter  reached  bssex ; 
the  earl  of  Forth  requested  a  safe-conduct  for  two  gentlemen, 
whom  he  said  the  king  wished  to  send  to  London  with  in- 
structions relative  to  peace.  **  My  lord,"  replied  Essex, 
"  when  you  shall  send  for  a  safe-conduct  for  those  gentlemen 
mentioned  in  your  letter,  from  his  Majesty  to  the  houses  of 
parliament,  I  shall,  with  all  cheerfulness,  show  my  willing- 
ness to  further  any  way  that  may  produce  that  happiness  that 
all  honest  men  pray  for,  which  is  a  true  understanding  be- 
tween his  majesty  and  his  faithful  and  only  council,  the  par- 
liament."f  1.1 

Charles  congratulated  himself  on  finding  his  adversaries  so 
impracticable,  and  that  his  party  would  thus,  at  length,  be 
reduced  to  place  all  their  hope  in  war.  But  the  assembly  at 
Oxford  was  not  of  the  same  temper  with  the  king ;  it  fully 
perceived  its  weakness,  it  had  great  doubts  as  to  the  legiti- 
macy  of  its  position— so  much  so,  that  it  had  not  dared  to  take 
the  name  of  parliament— and  it  regretted  in  secret  that  the 
king,  by  refusing  the  name  to  the  houses  at  Westminster,  had 
placed  such  an  obstacle  in  the  way  of  peace.  It  insisted  upon 
his  taking,  at  all  events,  one  step  more  in  the  way  of  concili- 
ation, in  his  offering  some  concession  calculated  to  soothe  the 
other  party.  Charles  consented  to  write  to  the  houses,  to  pro- 
pose a  negotiation,  and  he  addressed  his  letter,  "  To  the  lords 
and  commons  of  the  parliament  assembled  at  Westminster, 
but  in  the  letter  he  spoke  of  "  the  lords  and  commons  of  the 
parliament  assembled  at  Oxford  "  as  their  equals  (March  3).J 
A  trumpeter,  sent  by  Essex,  soon  brought  back  the  answer  of 
parliament :  it  said,  "  When  we  consider  the  expressions  m 
that  letter  of  your  majesty  we  have  more  sad  and  despairing 

members  of  the  commons  absent,  either  on  the  king's  service,  or  on 
leave,  or  from  sickness ;  in  all,  there  were  eighty-three  lords,  and  one 
hundred  and  sixty-five  members  of  the  commons,  assembled  in  parUa- 
ment  at  Oxford.— Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  218. 

•lb.,  209.  t  lb.,  212.  t  lb..  213. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


251 


thoughts  of  obtaining  peace  than  ever,  because  thereby,  those 
persons  now  assembled  at  Oxford,  who,  contrary  to  their  duty 
have  deserted  your  parliament,  are  put  into  an  equal  condi-' 
tion  with  It.  And  this  present  parliament,  convened  accord- 
ing to  the  known  and  fundamental  laws  of  the  kingdom,  the 
continuance  whereof  is  established  by  a  law  consented  unto 
by  your  majesty,  is,  in  effect,  denied  even  the  name  of  a  par- 
liament. And  hereupon  we  think  ourselves  bound  to  let  you 
know,  that  we  must,  in  duty,  and  accordingly  are  resolved, 
with  our  lives  and  fortunes,  to  defend  and  preserve  the  just 
rights  and  full  power  of  this  parliament"  (March  9)  * 

The  assembly  at  Oxford  lost  all   hope  of  conciliation,  and 
thenceforward  regarded  itself  as  sitting  without  any  object 
It  continued,  however,  to  meet  till  the  16th  of  April,  publish^ 
ing   long    and    doleful  declarations,  voting  a  few  taxes  and 
oans,t  addressing  bitter  reproaches  to  the  Westminster  par- 
hament,  and  passing  repeated  resolutions  expressive  of  fidelity 
to  the  king ;  but  it  was  throughout  timid,  inactive,  and  per- 
plexed with  Its  own  weakness,  and,  to  preserve  at  least  some 
show  of  dignity,  careful  to  display  in  presence  of  the  court 
Its  anxious  desire  for  legal  order  and  peace.     The  king,  who 
had  dreaded   the    superintendence  of  such  councillors,  soon 
tound  them  as  troublesome  as  useless  ;  they  themselves  were 
tired  of  their  solemn  sittings,  without  any  aim  or  result.     Af- 
ter earnest  protestations  that  he  would  continue  to  regulate  his 
conduct  by  their  opinions,  Charles  pronounced  their  adjourn- 
ment (April  16)  4  and  scarcely  were  the  doors  closed  behind 
them,  than  he  congratulated  himself  to  the  queen  upon  being 
at  last  "rid  of  this  mongrel  parliament,  the  haunt  of  cow- 
ardly  and  seditious  motions. "§ 

The  campaign  about  to  open,  announced  itself  under  unfa- 
vorable auspices.  Notwithstanding  the  inaction  of  the  two 
principal  armies  during  the  winter,  war  had  been  carried  on  in 
the  other  parts  of  the  kingdom  with  advantage.  In  the  north- 
west the  regiments  recalled  from  Ireland,  after  six  weeks  of 
success,  had  been  beaten  and  almost  entirely  cut  to  pieces  bv 
I^airfax,  under  the  walls  of  Nantwich,  in  Cheshire  (Jan.  25)  |( 


*  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  214. 

I  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  243—247. 


t  lb.,  5;  Clarendon,  ii.,  677, 


II  Fairfax,  71. 


252 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


In  the  north,  the  Scots,  under  the  command  of  the  earl  of  Le- 
ven,  had  commenced  their  march  into  England  (Jan.  19);  lord 
Newcastle  set  forward  to  meet  them,  but  m  his  absence  t  air- 
fax  had  defeated,  at  Selby  (April  11),  a  numerous  body  of 
royalists  ;*   and  to  secure  the  important  fortress  of  York  Irom 
attack,  Newcastle  had  found  himself  obliged  to  shut  himself  up 
in  it  fApril  19).t     In  the  east,  a  new  army  of  fourteen  thou- 
sand  men  was  forming  under  the  command  of  lord  Manchester 
and  Cromwell,  and  nearly  ready  to  march  wherever  the  ser- 
vice of  parliament  might  require  its  presence.     In  the  south, 
near  Alresford  in  Hampshire,  sir  William  Waller  had  gained 
an  unexpected  victory  over  sir  Ralph  Hopton  (March  29).    A 
few  adv^tages  obtained  by  prince  Rupert,  in  NotUnghamshire 
and   Lancashire,*   did   not   compensate   for  such  multiplied 
losses.     Want  of  discipline  and  disorder  daily  increased  in  the 
royalist  camp ;  the  honest  grew  sorrowful  and  disgusted  ;  the 
others  claimed  all  the  license  of  war  as  the  reward  of  courage 
without  virtue ;  the  king's  authority  over  his  officers,  and  that 
of  the  officers  over  the  soldiers,  became  day  after  day  less  and 
less.    In  London,  on  the  contrary,  all  the  measures  taken  were 
at  once  more  regular  and  more  energetic  than  ever.     Com- 
plaints  had  often  been  made  that  the  parliament  did  not  act 
with  promptitude,  that  none  of  its  deliberations  could  remain 
secret,  but  that  the  king  was  immediately  informed  of  them  all ; 
under  the  name  of  the  committee  of  the  two  kingdoms,  a  coun- 
cil  composed  of  seven  lords,  fourteen  members  of  the  commons, 
and  four  Scottish  commissioners,  was  invested,  as  to  war,  the 
relations  between  the  two  kingdoms,  the  correspondence  with 
foreign  states,  &c.,  with  an  almost  absolute  power  (Jeb    16).^ 
So  great  was  the  enthusiasm  in  some  families  that  they  denied 
themselves  one  meal  a  week,  to  give  the  value  of  it  to  parlia- 
ment ;  an  ordinance  converted  this  offering  into  a  compulsory 
tax  for  all  the  inhabitants  of  London  and  its  environs  (March 
26).||     Excise  duties,  till  then  unknown,  were  imposed  upon 
wine  cider,  beer,  tobacco,  and  many  other  commodities  (May 
16,  1643,  and  July  8,  1644).ir     The  committee  of  sequestra- 


♦  iToJrf.^  nR  t  Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  620. 

X  Ma  ch  the  22d  he  abandoned  the  siege  of  Newark,  and  in  the  month 
of  April  following,  took  Papworth,  Bolton,  and  Liverpool,  in  Lanca 

shire 

&Parl.  Hist.,  iii.,  246. 

^  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  114,  276. 


II  Rushworth,  ii.,  3,748. 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


253 


tion  redoubled  its  severity.*  At  the  opening  of  the  campaign 
parliament  had  five  armies  ;  those  of  the  Scots,  of  Essex,  and 
of  Fairfax,  at  the  expense  of  the  public  exchequer  ;  those  of 
Manchester  and  Waller,  supported  by  local  contributions,  col- 
lected  weekly  in  certain  counties,  which  were  also  called 
upon  to  find  recruits  when  needed.f  These  forces  amounted 
to  more  than  fifty  thousand  men,:|:  of  whom  the  committee  of 
the  two  kingdoms  had  the  entire  disposal. 

Notwithstanding  the  presumption  which  reigned  at  Oxford, 
great  anxiety  was  soon  manifested  there  :  the  court  was  asto' 
nished  at  no  longer  receiving  from  London  any  exact  informa- 
tion, and  at  the  designs  of  parliament  being  kept  so  secret ;  all 
the  people  at  Oxford  could  learn  was  that  it  was  making  g'reat 
preparations,  that  power  was  becoming  concentrated  in  the 
hands  of  the  boldest  leaders,  who  talked  of  decisive  measures, 
and,  in  a  word,  that  everything  wore  a  very  sinister  aspect  for 
them.     All   at  once  a  report  spread  that  Essex  and  Waller 
were  on  their  march  to  besiege  Oxford.     The  queen,  seven 
months  gone  with  child,  at  once  declared  that  she  would  de- 
part ;  in  vain  did  a  few  members  of  the  council  venture  to 
point  out  the  ill  effect  of  such  a  resolution  ;  in  vain  did  Charles 
himself  express  a  wish  that  she  should  change  her  determina- 
tion ;  the  very  idea  of  being  shut  up  in  a  besieged  town  was, 
she  said,  insupportable,  and  she  should  die  if  she  were  not 
allowed  to  retire  towards  the  west,  to  some  place  where  she 
might  be  confined,  far  from  the  seat  of  war,  and  whence  she 
could  embark  for  France  in  case  of  urgent  danger.     Furious 
at  the  suggestion  of  an  objection,  she  raved,  entreated,  wept ; 

•  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  174,  257  ;  Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  760. 

t  The  seven  confederate  counties  of  the  east,  Essex,  Suffolk,  Norfolk, 
Hertford,  Cambridge,  Huntingdon,  Lincoln,  and  Ely,  were  taxed  at 
S,445/.  a  week  for  the  maintenance  of  Manchester's  army.  The  four 
counties  in  the  south,  Hampshire,  Sussex,  Surrey,  and  Kent,  paid 
2,638/.  a  week  for  the  maintenance  of  Waller's  army.  Essex's  army 
cost  the  public  treasury  3(3,504/.  a  month  ;  the  Scottish  armv,  31,000/. 
a  month.  (Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  621.)  I  cannot  ascertain  the'^exact  cost 
of  Fairfax's  array  ;  exerything  shows  it  was  more  irregularly  paid  than 
the  others,  and  perhaps  in  part  by  local  contributions,  and  in  part  by 
parliament.     Fairfax,  Memoirs,  passim. 

t  The  Scottish  army  was  21,000  strong;  that  of  Essex,  10,500;  that 
of  Waller,  5,100  ;  that  of  Manchester,  ]  4,000  ;  that  of  Fairfax,  5,000  to 
6000  ;  in  all  about  56,000.  Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  603,  621,  654  ;  Fairfax, 
passim. 

22 


254 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLITTION. 


255 


11 


all  at  last  gave  way.  Exeter  was  chosen  as  the  place  of  her 
retreat ;  and  towards  the  end  of  April  she  quitted  her  husband, 
who  never  saw  her  again.* 

The  news  which  had  caused  her  so  much  terror  was  we  1- 
founded  ;  Essex  and  Waller  were  indeed  advancing  to  block- 
ade Oxford.  In  another  direction,  Fairfax,  Manchester,  and 
the  Scots,  were  to  meet  under  the  walls  of  York  and  together 
lay  siege  to  it.  The  twr  great  royalist  cities  and  the  two  great 
royalist  armies,  the  king  and  lord  Newcastle,  were  thus  at- 
tacked  at  once  by  all  the  forces  of  parliament.  Such  was  the 
simple  and  daring  plan  that  the  committee  of  the  two  kingdoms 

had  just  adopted.  ..    i     • 

Towards  the  end  of  May,  Oxford  was  almost  entirely  in- 
vested:  the  king's  troops,  successfully  driven  from  every  post 
they  occupied  in  the  neighborhood,  had  been  obliged  to  tali 
back,  some  into  the  town,  the  rest  to  a  fortified  point,  the  on  y 
one  open  to  them  outside  the  walls,  north  of  the  city ;  no  help 
could  arrive  in  time  ;  prince  Rupert  was  in  the  depths  ot  ban- 
cashire,  prince  Maurice  besieging  the  port  of  Lyme,  in  Dorset- 
shire,  lord  Hopton,  at  Bristol,  occupied  in  securing  that  place 
from  the  enemy,  who  had  managed  to  effect  a  correspondence 
witli  some  of  the  principal  inhabitants.  A  reinforcement  ot 
eight  thousand  men  of  the  London  militia  enabled  Essex  to 
complete  the  blockade.  The  peril  seemed  so  urgent,  that  one 
of  the  king's  most  faithful  councillors  advised  him  to  give  him- 
self up  to  the  earl.  "  It  is  possible,"  replied  Charles,  with  in- 
dicrnation,  *'  that  I  may  be  found  in  the  hands  of  the  earl  ot 
Essex,  but  it  will  be  dead."  A  report,  meantime,  circulated 
in  London,  that,  not  knowing  how  to  escape,  the  king  was 
forming  the  resolution,  of  either  coming  unexpectedly  into  the 
city,  or  putting  himself  under  the  protection  of  the  lord-general. 
The  alarm  of  the  commons  was  as  great  as  the  king's  indigna- 
tion had  been.  They  immediately  wrote  to  Essex,  ^'  My  lord, 
there  being  here  a  general  report  of  his  majesty  coming  to 
London,  we,  by  command  of  the  house,  desire  your  lordship  to 
use  your  best  endeavors  to  find  the  grounds  of  it;  and  if  at  any 
time  you  shall  understand  that  his  majesty  intends  to  repair 
hither,  or  to  your  army,  that  you  presently  acquaint  the  houses, 
and  do  nothing  therein  without  their  advice."    Essex  compre- 

•  Clarendon,  ii.,  7fl4. 


hended  the  distrust  which  lurked  beneath  these  words.  He 
answered  :  "  My  lord,  how  the  general  report  is  come  of  his 
majesty's  coming  to  London  is  all  unknown  to  me.  I  shall  not 
fail,  with  my  best  endeavors,  to  find  the  grounds  of  it ;  but 
London  is  the  likeliest  place  to  know  it,  there  being  no  speech 
of  it  in  this  army.  As  soon  as  I  shall  have  any  notice  of  his 
intention  of  repairing  to  the  parliament  or  the  army,  I  shall  not 
fail  to  give  notice  of  it ;  I  cannot  conceive  there  is  any  ground 
for  it ;  but,  however,  I  believe  I  shall  be  the  last  that  shall 
hear  of  it."* 

A  very  different  report,  and  much  more  certain,  next  came 
by  surprise  upon  the  parliament  and  the  army  ;  the  king  had 
escaped  from  them.  On  the  3d  of  June,  at  nine  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  followed  by  the  prince  of  Wales,  and  leaving  the  duke 
of  York  and  all  the  court  in  the  place,  he  had  left  Oxford,  had 
passed  between  the  two  hostile  camps,  and  joining  a  body  of 
light  troops  who  awaited  him  north  of  the  town,  speedily  put 
himself  beyond  reach. f 

The  astonishment  was  great,  and  the  necessity  of  an  im- 
mediate resolution  evident.  The  siege  of  Oxford  was  now  a 
matter  of  no  object ;  the  two  armies  had  before  them  nothing 
which  required  their  joint  efforts ;  the  king,  at  liberty,  would 
soon  become  formidable  ;  it  was  above  all  important  to  pre- 
vent his  rejoining  prince  Rupert. 

Essex  assembled  a  great  council  of  war,  and  proposed  that 
Waller,  less  encumbered  with  heavy  artillery  and  baggage, 
should  pursue  the  king,  while  he  himself  should  march  to- 
wards the  west  to  raise  the  siege  of  Lyme,  and  reduce  that 
part  of  the  country  to  the  power  of  parliament.     Waller  op- 
posed this  plan ;  this,  he  said,  was  not  the  destination  which 
the  committee  of  the  two  kingdoms  had    assigned  the  two 
armies,  in  the  event  of  their  separating ;   it  was  upon  him  the 
command  in  the  west  was  to  devolve.     The  council  of  war 
concurred  with  the  lord-general ;  Essex  haughtily  demanded 
submission;  Waller  obeyed,  and  began  his  march,  but  not 
without  having  addressed  bitter  complaints  to  the  committee, 
of  the  contempt  with  which  the  earl  had  treated  its  instruc- 
tions.:): 

*  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  266 ;  the  letter  of  the  house  to  Essex  is  dated  May 
15th,  1664,  and  his  answer  is  of  the  17th  of  May. 
t  Clarendon,  ii.,  765 ;  Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  671. 
t  Clarendon,  ii.,  733. 


256 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


257 


Hiffhly  indignant,  the  committee  at  once  brought  the  matter 
beforl  the  house  ;  and  after  a  debate  of  which  there  remams 
no  record,  an  order  was  despatched  to  Essex  to  retrace  his 
steps  to  go  in  pursuit  of  the  king,  and  to  leave  Waller  to  ad- 
vance  alone  into  the  west,  as  he  should  have  done  in  the  first 

instance* 

The  earl  had  entered  upon  the  campaign  in  no  very  agreea- 
ble  mood ;  intimidated  for  awhile  by  their  perils  and  his  vie- 
tories,  his  enemies  had,  during  the  winter,  recommenced 
assailing  him  with  their  suspicions,  and  creating  for  him  a 
thousand  annoyances.  Just  before  his  departure,  a  popular 
petition  had  demanded  the  reformation  of  his  army,  which  the 
commons  had  received  without  any  manifestation  of  dis- 
pleasure  ;+  that  of  Waller  was  always  better  provided  for,  and 
paid  with  more  regularity ;%  it  was  evidently  against  him, 
and  to  replace  him  in  case  of  need,  that  lord  Manchester  was 
forming  a  fresh  army ;  at  London  and  in  his  camp,  his  friends 
were  indignant  that  from  Westminster-hall,  men  ignorant  of 
warfare  should  pretend  to  direct  its  operations  and  prescribe 
to  generals  how  to  act.§  He  answered  the  committee :  "  Your 
orders  are  contrary  to  military  discipline  and  to  reason ;  it  1 
should  now  return,  it  would  be  a  great  encouragement  to  the 
enemy  in  all  places.  Your  innocent,  though  suspected  ser- 
vant,  Essex;"  and  continued  his  march. ||  ' 

The  amazed  committee  suspended  the  quarrel  and  their 
anger  ;  Essex's  enemies  did  not  feel  themselves  strong  enough 
to  ruin  him,  nor  even  to  do  without  him  ;  they  contented  them- 
selves  for  the  present  with  inserting,  in  the  answer  they  sent 
him,  a  few  words  of  reprimand  for  the  tone  he  had  assumed  ;T1 
and' he  received  orders  to  proceed  with  the  expedition  which 
the  preceding  message  had  enjoined  him  to  abandon.** 

The  news  received  from  Waller's  army  had  much  to  do 
with  this  cautious  procedure.  After  having  vainly  pursued 
the  king,  this  favorite  of  the  committee  was  in  his  turn  me- 
naced with  impending  danger.  As  soon  as  Charles  learnt 
that  the  two  parliamentary  generals  had  separated,  and  that 
he  should  have  but  one  to  grapple  with,  he  stopped,  wrote  to 

•  Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  672.         ^^  t  Whit^locke,  80. 

X  Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  683 ;  Holies,  22.  §  Whitelocke,  7». 

II  Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  683  ;  Clarendon,  u.,  733.  ^    ^        .    .... 
iff  Rushworth,  ibid.  ♦*  Rushworth.  ibid. 


prince  Rupert  to  march  without  an  instant's  delay  to  the  succor 
of  York,*  and,  by  a  bold  resolution  retracing  the  road  he  had 
followed  in  his  flight  from  Oxford,  re-entered  that  city  seven- 
teen days  after  he  had  quitted  it,  put  himself  at  the  head  of 
his  troops,  and  resumed  the  offensive,  while  Waller  was  seek- 
ing him  in  Worcestershire.     At  the  first  report  of  his  move- 
ments. Waller  returned  by  forced  marches,  for  he  alone  was 
left  to  cover  the  road  to  London  ;  and  soon  after,  having  re- 
ceived   a  few  reinforcements,  he  advanced  with  his  wonted 
confidence  to  offer,  or,  at  least,  accept  battle.     Charles  and 
his  men,  filled  with  that  ardor  which  unexpected  success  after 
great  peril  inspires,  were  still  more  eager.     The  action  took 
place  on  the  29th  of  June,  at  Cropredy-bridge  in  Bucking- 
hamshire, and,  notwithstanding  a  brilliant  resistance.  Waller 
was  beaten,  even  more  completely  than  the  conquerors  them- 
selves at  first  supposed. I 

Good  fortune  appeared  to  give  Charles  a  daring,  and  even 

a  skill  he  had  not  hitherto  manifested.     At  ease  with  reference 

to  Waller,  he  at  once  resolved  to  march  towards  the  west,  to 

fall  with  his  whole  disposable  force  upon  Essex,  and  thus,  in 

two  blows,  destroy  the  two  armies  which  had  lately  kept  him 

almost  a  prisoner.     Essex,  moreover,  had  appeared  under  the 

walls  of  Exeter,  and  the  queen,  who  resided  there,  and  who 

had  been  confined  only  a  few  days,:j:  and  was  as  yet  ignorant 

of  her  husband's  success,  would  again  be  assailed  by  all  her 

fears.§     Charles  departed  two  days  after  his  victory,  having 

first,  to  conciliate  the  people  rather  than  from  any  sincere 

Wish  for  peace,  sent  from  Evesham  a  message  to  both  houses 

(dated  July  4,  1644),  in  which,  without  giving  them  the  name 

ot  parliament,  he   was  profuse  of  pacific   protestations,    and 

offered  once  more  to  open  negotiations.  || 

But  just  after  his  departure  from  Oxford,  and  before  his 
message  reached  London,  all  the  fears  of  parliament  were  dis- 
pelled ;  the  face  of  affairs  had  changed ;  Waller's  defeat  was 

.•n*Ax/^'^  letter  is  dated  June  14,  1644,  from  Tickenhall,  near  Bewdlev, 
m  Worcestershire.  It  was  published  for  the  first  time  in  1819,  in  sir 
John  Evelyn's  Memoirs,  ii.,  87. 

t  Clarendon,  ii.,  744  ;  Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  675. 
Orleans"^  ^^*  ^^^^'  °^  ^^^  princess  Henrietta,  afterwards  duchess  of 

§  Clarendon,  ii.,  751;  Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  686. 
II  Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  687. 
22* 


^H  li 


268 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


now  only  regarded  as  an  unimportant  accident :  parliament 
had  just  learned  that  its  generals  had  obtained  near  York  a 
most  brilliant  victory,  that  the  town  must  speedily  surrender, 
that,  in  a  word,  in  the  north  the  royalist  party  was  all  but 

annihilated. 

In  fact,  on  the  2d  of  July,  at  Marston  Moor,  between  seven 
and  ten  in  the  evening,  the  most  decisive  battle  that  had  yet 
taken  place,  had  brought   about  these  great  results.     Three 
days  before,  at  the  approach  of  prince  Rupert,  who  was  ad- 
vancing  towards  York  with  twenty  thousand  men,  the  parlia- 
mentary generals  had  resolved  to  raise  the  siege,  hoping  that 
they  should   at  least  be   able  to  prevent  the  prince  throwing 
succors  into  the  besieged  city  ;  but  Rupert  defeated  their  ma- 
noeuvres,  and  entered  York   without   a  battle.      Newcastle 
strongly  urged  him  to  remain  satisfied  with  this  success ;  dis- 
cord, he  said,  was  working  in  the  camp  of  the  enemy ;  the 
Scots  were  on  bad  terms  with  the  English,  the  independents 
with  the  presbyterians,  lieutenant-general  Cromwell  with  ma- 
jor-general  Crawford ;  if  he  must  fight,  let  him  at  least  wait 
for  a   reinforcement  of   three  thousand  men,  which  would 
shortly   arrive.     Rupert  scarcely  listened  to  what  he  said, 
bluntly  replying  that  he  had  orders  from  the  king,*  and  ordered 
the  troops  to  march  upon  the  enemy,  who  were  retreating. 
They  soon  came  up  with  their  rear ;  both  parties  stopped, 
called   in  their  outposts,   and   prepared  for  battle.      Almost 
within  musket-shot  of  each  other,  separated  only  by  some 
ditches,  the  two  armies  passed  two  hours  motionless  and  in 
profound  silence,  each  waiting  for  the  other  to  commence  the 
attack.     "  What  office  does  your  highness  destine  me  ?"  asked 
lord  Newcastle  of  the  prince.     "  I  do  not  propose  to  begin 

*  These  orders  were  contained  in  the  letter  above  mentioned,  and 
which  directed  him  to  go  to  the  assistance  of  York.  It  has  been 
matter  of  great  discussion  whether  it  expressly  enjoined  prince  Rupert 
to  give  battle,  or  whether  he  was  left  at  liberty  to  avoid  it ;  a  puerile 
question  ;  for,  assuredly,  if  Rupert  had  thought  with  Newcastle,  that 
a  battle  ought  not  to  be  risked,  he  would  have  been  wrong  in  obeying 
orders  given  at  a  distance  and  on  mere  speculation.  Besides,  notwith- 
standing what  Mr.  Brodie  and  Mr.  Lingard  have  recently  said  on  this 
subject  (Hist,  of  the  British  Empire,  iii.,  447  ;  Hist,  of  England,  x., 
252),  it  is  by  no  means  probable  that  the  king's  letter  contained  a  po- 
sitive order  :  it  is  evidently  written  in  the  conviction  that  the  siege  of 
York  could  not  be  raised  without  a  battle,  and  it  is  in  that  sense  that 
it  speaks  of  a  victory  as  indispensable. 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


259 


the  action  before  to-morrow,"  replied  Rupert,  «  you  can  re 
pose  till  then."     Newcastle  went  and  shut  himself  up  in  his 
carriage.     He  had  scarcely  sat  down,  when  a  volley  of  mus 
quetry  informed  him  that  the  battle  was  beginning ;  he  imme 
diately  proceeded  to  the  scene  of  action,  without  assuming 
any  command,  at  the  head  of  a  few  gentlemen,  offended  like 
himself  with  the  prince,  and  like  him  acting  as  volunteers 
In  a  few  moments  the  moor  was  the  scene  of  utter  disorder  • 
the  two  armu  s  met,  dashed  into  each  other's  ranks,  got  mixed 
up  together  in  mere  confusion  ;  parliamentarians  and  royalists 
cavalry  and  infantry,  officers  and  soldiers,  wandered  about 
over  the  field  of  battle   alone  or  in  bands,  asking  for  orders 
seeking  their  divisions,  fighting  when  they  met  an  enemy,  but 
all  without  general  design  or  result.     First  of  all,  the  right 
wing  of  the  parliamentarians  was  routed  ;  next,  broken  and 
panic-struck   by  a  vigorous  charge  of  the  royalists,  the  Scot- 
tish cavalry  dispersed  ;  Fairfax   vainly  endeavored  to  keep 
them  together ;  they  fled  in  all  directions,  crying,  "  Bad  luck 
to  us !  we  are  undone  !"  and  they  spread  the  news  of  their 
defeat  so  rapidly  through  the  country,  that  from  Newark  a 
messenger  carried  it  to  Oxford,  where,  for  some  hours,  bon- 
fires  were  burning  to  celebrate  the  supposed  triumph.     But 
on  returning  from  the  pursuit,  the  royalists,  to  their  great 
surprise,  found  the  ground  they  had   previously  occupied  in 
the  possession  of  a  victorious  enemy  ;  while  the  Scottish  cavalry 
were  flying  before  them,  their  right  wing,  although  command- 
ed by  Rupert  himself,  had  undergone  the  same  fate  ;  after  a 
violent  struggle,  they  had  yielded  before  the  invincible  de- 
termination of  Cromwell  and  his  squadrons ;    Manchester's 
infantry  completed  their  defeat ;    and  satisfied  with  having 
dispersed  the  prince's  horse,  Cromwell,  skilful  in  rallying  his 
men,  had  returned   immediately  to  the  field,  to  make  sure  of 
the  victory  ere  he  thought  of  celebrating  it.     After  a  moment's 
hesitation,  the  two  armies  resumed  the  conflict,  and  at  ten 
0  clock  not  a  royalist  remained  on  the    field,  except  three 
thousand  slain  and  sixteen  hundred  prisoners.* 

Rupert  and  Newcastle  re-entered  York  in  the  middle  of  the 
night,  without  speaking  to,  without  seeing  one   another;  as 

TrJ.?"^^lT'l*^'  ";;  \  p31-640;  Clarendon,  ii.,  753;  Ludlow,  53; 
J'airiax,84  &c.;  Hutchinson,  Memoirs  (1808),  205  ;  Carte's  Letters, 
»••  06  ;  Bailhe's  Letters,  ii.,  36,  40. 


260 


HISTORY  OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


261 


III 


soon  as  they  arrived,  they  exchanged  messages :  the  prince 
sent  word  to  the  earl :  "  1  have  resolved  to  depart  this  morn- 
inff  with  my  horse  and  as  many  foot  as  are  lelt ;  1  am 
coins  forthwith  to  the  sea-side,"  replied  Newcastle,  to  depart 
for  the  continent."  Each  kept  his  word  ;  Newcastle  embarked 
at  Scarborough,  Rupert  marched  towards  Chester,  with  the 
wreck  of  his  army,  and  York  capitulated  m  a  fortnight  (July 

The  independent  party  were  in  an  ecstasy  of  joy  and  hope  ; 
it  was  to  their  chiefs,  to  their  soldiers  this  brilliant   success 
was  due  :  Cromwell's  ability  had  decided  the  victory  ;  for  he 
first  time  the  parliamentary  squadrons  had  broken  the  royalis 
squadrons,  and  it  was  the  saints  of  the  cavaliers  of  Cromwell 
who  had  done  this.     They  and  their  general  had,  on  the  very 
field  of  battle,   received  the  surname  of  Ironsides.     Frince 
Rupert's   own  standard,  publicly  exhibited  at  Westminster, 
attested  their  triumph  ;t  and  they  might  have  sent  to  pariia- 
ment  more  than  a  hundred  flags  taken  from  the  enemy,  it,  m 
their  enthusiasm,  they  had  not  torn  them  in  pieces  to  decorate 
their  helmets  and  arms.J     Essex,  indeed,  had  conquered  twice, 
but  as  if  by  constraint,  to  save  the  parliament  from  impend- 
incr  destruction,  and  with  no  other  effect ;  the  saints  sought 
the  battle,  and  were  not  afraid  of  victory.     Were  the  Scots, 
who  had  shown  such  cowardice  on  this  great  day,  thenceforth 
to  pretend  to  subject  them  to  their  presbyterian  tyranny  ? 
Would  peace  be  any  longer  spoken  of  as  necessary  ?     Vic 
tory  and  liberty  alone  were  necessary  ;  it  was  essential  to 
achieve  these,  at  whatever  price,  and  carry  out  to  its   full 
extent  that  blessed  reform  so  oflen  endangered  by  interested 
or  timid  men,  so  of\en  saved  by  the  arm  of  the  Lord.     Every- 
where  was  this  language  heard  ;  everywhere  did  independ- 
ents, freethinkers,  or  fanatics,  citizens,  preachers,  or  soldiers, 
give  emphatic  utterance  to  their  excitement  and  their  wishes  ; 
and  everywhere  was  heard  the  name  of  Cromwell,  himself 

*  Clarendon^  ii.,  755.  ,  i    v.-   j  i,;m 

t  In  the  middle  of  the  standard  was  a  lion  couchant,  and  behind  mm 
a  mastiff  biting  at  him  ;  from  the  mastiff's  mouth  came  a  ffeamer,  on 
which  was  to  be  read,  Kimholton  ;  at  its  feet  were  several  httle  dogs, 
beneath  whose  jaws  was  written,  Pym,  Pym,  Pym  ;  from  the  lion  s 
own  jaws  proceeded  these  words  :  quousque  tandem  abutere4»attentia 
nostra  1 — Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  635. 
X  Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  635. 


beyond  all  others  vehement  in  his  expressions,  while,  at  the 
same  time,  he  passed  for  the  most  skilful  in  the  contrivance 
of  deep  designs.  "  My  lord,"  said  he  one  day  to  Manchester, 
m  whom  the  party  still  reposed  confidence,  "  be  wholly  one 
of  us ;  talk  no  more  of  holding  ourselves  open  to  peace,  of 
keeping  on  terms  with  the  lords,  of  fearing  the  refusal  of 
parliament ;  what  have  we  to  do  with  peace  and  the  lords  ? 
Nothing  will  go  on  right  till  you  call  yourself  plain  Mr.  Mon- 
tague ;  if  you  bind  yourself  to  honest  folk,  you  will  soon  be 
at  the  head  of  an  army  that  will  give  laws  to  king  and  pariia- 
ment  too."* 

With  all  the  audacity  of  his  hopes,  Cromwell  himself  had 
no  idea  how  near  the  triumph  of  his  party  was,  nor  how 
hard  a  fate  was  shortly  to  befall  that  adversary  whom  he  most 
dreaded. 

Essex  had  advanced  further  and  further  into  the  west, 
encouraged   by  easy   victories,   and  ignorant  of  the  dangers 
gathering  behind  him.     In  three  weeks  he  had  raised  the 
siege   of   Lyme,   taken   Weymouth,    Barnstaple,    Tiverton, 
Taunton,  and  dispersed,  almost  without  a  blow,  the  royalist 
troops  who  attempted  to  stop  him.     As  he  approached  Exeter, 
the  queen  sent  to  request  a  safe-conduct  to  go  to  Bath  or  Bris- 
tol,  for  the  purpose  of  regaining  her  strength  afler  her  confine- 
ment.    « If  your  majesty,"  he  replied,  "  pleases,  I  will  not 
only  give  you  a  safe-conduct,  but  will  wait  upon  you  myself, 
to  London,  where  you  may  have  the  best  advice  and  means 
for  restoring  your  health  ;  but  as  for  either  of  the  other  places, 
I  cannot  obey  your  majesty's  desire  without  directions  from 
the  parliament."t     Seized  with  fear,  the  queen  fled  to  Fal- 
mouth,. where  she  embarked  for  France  (July  14),  and  Essex 
continued  his  march.     He  was  still  in  sight  of  Exeter  when 
he  heard  that  the  king,  having  defeated  Waller,  was  rapidly 
advancing  against  him,  collecting  on  the  way  all  the  forces 
he  could   command.     A  council  of  war  being  immediately 
called,  it  was  put  to  the  question  whether  they  should  go  on 
and  entrench  themselves  in  Cornwall,  or  return,  seek  the  king, 
and  offer  him  battle.     Essex  was  of  the  latter  opinion,  but 
several  of  the  officers,  among  others  lord  Roberts,  the  friend 
of  sir  Harry  Vane,  possessed  in  Cornwall  large  estates,  of 

*  Holies,  Memoirs,  18  ;  Clarendon,  ii.,  841. 
t  Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  684;  Whitelocke,  93. 


263 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


263 


which  the  rents  were  long  in  arrear,  and  they  had  rehed  upon 
this  expedition  to  obtain  payment   from  their  tenants  ;  they 
therefore  opposed  any  idea  of  going  back,  mamtammg  that 
the  people  of  Cornwall,  oppressed  by  the  royalists,  would  rise 
at  the  approach  of  the  army,  and  that  Essex  would  thus  have 
the  honor  to  dispossess  the  king  of  this  county,  hitherto  his 
firmest  support.*     Essex  allowed  himself  to  he  persuaded, 
and,  having   sent  to  London   for  reinforcement,  entered  the 
defiles  of  Cornwall.     The  people  did  not  rise  in  his  favor, 
provisions  were  scarce,  and  the  king  was  already  close  upon 
him.     He  wrote  again  to  London,  to  say  that  his  situation 
was  becoming  perilous,  that  it  was  essential  for  Wal  er  or 
some  one  else,  by  making  a  diversion  on  the  rear  of  the  king  s 
army,  to  give  his  an  opportunity  of  escape.     The  committee 
of  the  two  kingdoms  made  a  great  clamor  about  his  mistor- 
tune,  and  seemed  filled  with  vast  zeal  to  aid  him ;  public 
prayers  were  directed  (Aug.  13)  ;t  orders  to  meet  his  wishes 
^ere  given  to  Waller,  Middleton,  even  to  Manchester,  who 
had  returned  from  the  north  with  a  portion  of  his  army  ;  these 
in  their  turn  manifested  the   utmost  ardor :  "  Let  money  and 
men  be  sent  to  me,"  wrote  Waller,  "  God  is  witness,  'tis  not 
my  fault  I  do  not  advance  more  quickly  ;  may  infamy  and  the 
blood  that  is  spilt  rest  on  the  heads  of  those  who  lay  obstruc 
tions  in  my  way.     If  money  cannot  be  had,  I  will  march 
without  it."     But  he  did   not   march.     Middleton   held   the 
same  language,  put  himself  in  motion,  and  stopped  at  the  first 
obstacle.     No  corps  at  all  was  detached  from  Manchester  s 
army.l     Reassured  by  the  victory  of  Marston  Moor,  the  in- 
dependent leaders,  Vane,   St.   John,  Ireton,  Cromwell,  were 
delighted  to  purchase  by  a  signal  check  the  ruin  of   their 

enemy.  ,  . 

They  did  not  imagine  that  at  that  very  moment,  and  in 
his  utter  distress,  Essex  held,  perhaps,  their  fate  in  his  hands. 
On  the  6th  of  August,  a  letter  from  the  king  was  delivered  to 
him  at  his  head-quarters  at  Lestwithiel,  full  of  expressions  ot 
esteem  and  promises,  urging  him  to  give  peace  to  his  country. 
Lord  Beauchamp,  the  earl's  nephew,  was  the  bearer  of  the 
message  ;  several  colonels  in  his  army  seemed  favorable  to 

•Clarendon,  ii.,  767;  Rushworth,ii.,  3,  690.  ,„^.,  ,     ,      ^i 

t  Rushworth,  ii.,  3, 697.     X  Ludlow,  Memoirs,  f)5 ;  Whitelocke,  lUi. 


it.*     "  I  shall  give  no  answer,"  said  Essex.     "  I  have  only 
one  advice  to  give  the  king  ;  it  is,  to  return  to  his  parliament." 
Charles  did  not  persist ;  perhaps  even,  notwithstanding  the 
disaster  at  Marston  Moor,  he  did  not  altogether  desire  the  in- 
tervention of  such  a  mediator ;  but  peace,  in  those  about  him, 
had  more  earnest  partisans  ;  the  spirit  of  independence  and 
examination  gained   upon  the  royalists  ;  the  royal  name  no 
longer  exercised  its   former  empire  over  them,  and  in  their 
meetings  many  officers  freely  discussed  public  affairs  and  the 
king's  conduct.     Persuaded  that  Essex  had  only  rejected  the 
proposed  negotiation  because  the  king's  promises  seemed  to 
him  without  adequate  guarantee,  they  resolved  to  offer  him 
their  own,  and  to  invite  him  to  an  interview  with  them.     Lord 
VVilmot  and  lord  Percy,  commanders  of  the  cavalry  and  artil- 
lery, were  at  the  head  of  this  design ;  the  one  daring,  intel- 
lectual, an  inveterate  drinker,  and  beloved  by  the  army  for 
the  jovial  affability  of  his  temper  ;  the  other  cold  and  haughty, 
but  bold  in  speech,  and  keeping  a  good  table,  which  many  of 
the  officers  shared.     Informed  of  their  proceedings,  and  of  a 
letter  which  was  circulating  in  their  name,  Charles  was  ex- 
ceedingly angry ;  but  the  intention  pleased  even  those  men 
who  blamed  the  means.     The  king,  not  daring  to  forbid,  made 
up  his  mind  to  approve  of  it ;  the  letter  became  an  official  act, 
authorieed  by  him  and  signed  by  prince  Maurice  and  the  earl 
of  Brentford,  general-in-chief  of  the  army,  as  well  as  by  its 
first  authors  ;  a  trumpeter  conveyed  it  to  the  enemy's  camp 
(Aug.  9).     "  My  lords,"  replied  Essex,  "  in  the  beginning  of 
your  letter  you  express  by  what  authority  you  send  it ;  I, 
having   no  authority   from    the   parliament,    who  have  em- 
ployed me,  to  treat,  cannot  give  way  to  it  without  breach  of 
trust.     My  lords,  I  am  your  humble  seiVant,  Essex."     So  dry 
a  refusal  greatly  piqued  the  royalists ;  all  idea  of  negotiation 
was  abandoned ;  Wilmot  and  Percy  were  deprived  of  their 
commands,  and  hostilities  took  their  course.f 

Essex  soon  found  himself  in  a  desperate  position ;  he  fought 
every  day,  but  only  to  fall  every  day  into  greater  danger ;  his 
soldiers  were  getting  weary  of  the  contest,  conspiracies  were 

*  A°^°^S  others,  colonel  Weare  and  colonel  Butler ;  Rushworth,  ii., 

w,  710. 

t  Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  691—697;  Clarendon,  ii..  777. 


264 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


265 


forming  in  their  ranks  ;*  the  king  drew  his  lines  closer  and 
closer  around  him,  and  erected  redoubts  on  every  side  ;  already 
the  earl's  cavalry  had  not  space  enough  to  collect  forage ; 
there  scarcely  remained  to  him  any  free  communication  with 
the  sea  the  only  means  by  which  he  could  obtain  provisions ; 
in  short,  at  the  latter  end  of  August,  he  was  surrounded  so 
closely  that  from  the  neighboring  heights  the  royalists  could 
see  all  that  passed  in  his  camp.     In  this  extremity,  he  gave 
orders  to  the  cavalry,  commanded  by  sir  William  Balfour,  to 
make  their  way,  as  they  might,  through  the  enemy's  posts, 
and   set  out    himself  with    the    infantry  for   Fowey  harbor. 
Favored  by  night  and  a  fog,  the  cavalry  succeeded  in  passing 
between  two  royalist  divisions  ;  but  the  infantry,  straggling 
along  narrow  and  miry  roads,  pursued  by  the  whole  of  the 
kincr's  army,  compelled  to  abandon  at  every  step  cannon  and 
baggatre,  at  last  lost  all  hope  of  safety  ;  there  was  a  general 
desire^'expressed  to  capitulate.     Dejected,  perplexed,  anxious 
to  avoid  so  deep  a  humiliation,  Essex,  without  consulting  any 
one,  attended  only  by  two  officers,!  suddenly  quitted  the  canip, 
gained  the  coast,  and  embarked  in  a  vessel  which  set  sail  lor 
Plymouth,  leaving  his  army  under  the  command  of  major- 

general  Skippon.:^  ^ 

As  soon  as  his  departure  was  known,  Skippon  called  a 
council  of  war :  "  Gentlemen,"  said  he,  "  you  see  our  general 
and  some  chief  officers  have  thought  fit  to  leave  us,  and  our 
horse  are  got  away;  we  are  left  alone  upon  our  defence. 
That  which  I  propound  to  you  is  this,  that  we  having  the 
same  courage  as  our  horse  had,  and  the  same  God  to  assist 
us,  may  maTce  the  same  trial  of  our  fortunes,  and  endeavor 
to  make  our  way  through  our  enemies,  as  they  have  done, 
and  account  it  better  to  die  with  honor  and  faithfulness,  than 
to  live  dishonorable."  But  Skippon  did  not  communicate  his 
own  heroism  to  the  council ;  many  officers,  brave  and  faithful 
soldiers,  but  presbyterians,  moderate  men  like  Essex,  were, 
like  him,  sorrowful  and  dispirited.  The  king  proposed  to  him 
a  capitulation  on  unhoped-for  terms ;  he  only  required  the 
surrender  of  the  artillery,  ammunition  and  arms;    all  the 

♦  Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  698.  .^^  ^  ,     ^  t>  u    f. 

t  Sir  John  Merrick,  who  commanded  the  artillery,  and  lord  Koberw 
himself,  who  had  induced  Essex  to  enter  Cornwall. 

X  Rushworth,  i.,  3,  705 ;  Clarendon,  ii.,  787  ;  Whitelocke,  98. 


troops,  officers,  and  soldiers  were  to  retain  their  liberty  and 

TarteT"    ThesrconH  v'  "  ''''''  ^^  ^^^  ^^^^  parlSta^rJ 
quarters.       Ihese  conditions  were  accepted  (Sept.   !)•  and 

under  the  escort  of  some  royalist  horse,^he  parLmentarian 
battalions  traversed  without  a  general,  witLtTrms  he 
counties  which  they  had  just  marched  through  as  conqTerors  ^ 
Meantime,  Essex  landed  at  Plymouth,  and  sent  an  account 
to  parliament  of  his  disaster.  "It  is  the  greatest  Lw"  he 
wrote,  "that   ever   befel   our   nart^  .   T    ^^r'^^^^^/^^^^y     he 

"My  lord    the  committee  of  both  kingdoms  having  ac 
irom  Plymouth,  they  have  commanded  us  to  let  you  know 

ulh  to  G^od''''''l''"'  \  ™'^''°«""«of  that  accident,  and 
subm  t  to  God  s  pleasure  therein,  so  their  good  aifectioAs  to 

tCn  ?hf  'P'  '""^  "?''■■  °P'"'°"  "f  y°"r  fidflity  and  merit  n 
the   pubhc  service  is  not  at  all   lessened.     And  thev  are  re 
«Ived  not  to  be  wanting  in  their  best  endeavor^^  fo^  re'': 

voit  no"  %  ^""^  '^"'^'"S  ^°S^'^^'  ^"''h  a  «t«ngth  under 
affai^  toThttt  "'  "'Y'.^^^^'he  blessing  of  God,  rlstore  our 
anairs  to  a  better  condition  than  they  are  now  in   for  whiVh 

'Tall  t^'u''  "!.'"^"  '°  *^  ^">  °f  Manchester's 
«ith  all  possible  speed  towards  Dorchester,  with  all  the  forces 

oJZ  f  ^°'''u  '"**  '^'-     S'--  William  Waller  is  nkew'L 

fiveh^ndreln!^  r^T  "P'?''"'^'^  ^'^  t''°"««°d  foot-arms, 
?h?rt«  A       .  P     ^  of  P'stols,  and  six  thousand  suits  of  clothes 
shirts,  &c.,  to  meet  your  lordship  at  Portsmouth,  for  the  arm 

d/„t''vor.°Tg"V'"*'"'y°"'-'°^'=--  A»d  they  are  co^- 
forl/r  '"'■''chip's  presence  in  these  parts  for  bringing  the 
fo  ces  together  into  a  body,  and  disposing  of  them,  wfl"  ver^ 
much  conduce  to  the  public  advantage."  ^ 

Ihe  surprise  of  the  eari  was  extreme;  he  expected  im- 

t  P^I'J'i";.'  "•■  3..704-709;  Clarendon,  ut  sup. 


The  letter  is  dated 


23 


266 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


267 


peachmenl,  or  at  least  bitter  reproaches;  but  his  fidelity,  so 
recently  proved,  the  very  extent  of  the  disaster,  the  necessity 
of  producing  an  effect  on  the  enemy,  induced  the  wavering 
to  rally  round  his  partisans  on  this  occasion,  and  his  adver- 
saries  had  resolved  to  abstain  from  attacking  him.  bssex, 
embarrassed  by  his  misfortune  and  his  fault,  no  longer  seemed 
to  them  dangerous  ;  they  knew  him  well,  and  foresaw  that  ere 
long,  to  save  his  dignity  such  violent  shocks  as  these,  he  would 
withdraw  from  public  life.  Till  then,  by  treating  him  with 
honor,  they  obtained  credit  for  themselves;  they  escaped  an 
inquiry,  which  they  might  have  found  disagreeable,  into  the 
real  cause  of  his  defeat ;  and,  lastly,  the  favorers  of  peace 
would  now  be  necessitated  to  make  a  new  effort  lor  war.  bkil- 
ful  as  earnest,  the  independent  leaders  remained  silent,  and  the 
parliament  appeared  unanimous  in  sustaining  this  great  reverse 

with  dignity.  .     ,         r    .   \    ^ 

Its  activity  and  the  firmness  of  its  attitude  at  first  slack- 
ened the  king's  movements ;  he  addressed  a  pacific  message 
to  the  house,  and  for  three  weeks   contented   himself   with 
appearing  before  a  few  places,  Plymouth,  Lyme,  Portsmouth, 
which  did  not  surrender.     But  towards  the  end  of  September 
he  learnt  that  Montrose,  who  had  long  since  promised   him 
civil  war  in  Scotland,  had  at  last  succeeded,  and  was  already 
obtaining   one  triumph   after   another.     After  the  battle  ot 
Marston  Moor,  disguised  as  a  servant  and  followed  only  by 
two  companions,  Montrose  had  crossed  on  foot  the  borders  ot 
Scotland  and  proceeded  to  Strathern,  the  house  of  his  cousin, 
Patrick   Graham  of  Inchbrachie,   at   the    entrance    into  the 
Highlands,  to  await  there  the  landing  of  the  Irish  auxiliaries 
whom  Antrim  was  to  send  him.     By  day  he  hid  himself;  at 
night  he  traversed  the  surrounding  mountains,  collecting  in 
person,  from  place  to  place,  information  from  his  adherents. 
The  news  soon  reached  him  that  the  Irish  troops  had  landed 
(July  8),  and  were  advancing  into  the  country,  pillaging  and 
ravaging,  but  not  knowing  whither  to  proceed,  and  seeking  the 
general  who  had  been  promised  them.     They  were  on  the  con- 
fines  of  Athol,  when  Montrose,  with  a  single  attendant,  sud- 
denly appeared  in  their  camp,  dressed  as  a  Highlander.    They 
at  once  acknowledged  him  their  chief.     At  the  news  of  his 
arrival  several  clans  joined  him ;  without  losmg  a  moment, 
be  led  them  to  battle,  requiring  everything  from  their  ecu- 


rage  giving  up  everything  to  their  licentious  rapacity  •  and  in 
a  fortnight  he  had  gained  two  battles  (at  Tippermui/ Sept  T 
and  at  Dee  bridge,  Sept.  12),  occupied  Perth? takeriSen 

tt  Try  g^ifZ^^^^^^^^^  ^^--  -^  ^P-^  ^-o 

^r^ilVLutf  '  ''^''f  adversary/and  tEe  hTm' 
the  s^th  rI  ^fr  proceed  to  follow  up  his  successes  in 
the  south.     He  resolved  to  march  upon  London,  and  to  sive 

rZ.T^fT"'  f  P'P"^"'  "'^^  ^^^^^^^^  appearance,  at  the  mo! 
ment  of  h;s  departure,  a  proclamationf  sent  forth  in  ™ 
direction,  invited  all  his  subjects  in  the  south  and  east  to  ri2 
m  arms,  choose  officers  for  themselves,  and  joining  h^  on  ils 

a^c'eptTat.^"'  '^"  '^  ^""^"^^"  ^^^  parliimentVlTnJ^ht 

But  parliament  had  taken  its  measures :  already  the  com 
bined  troops  of  Manchester,  Waller,  and  Essex  coTeed  W 
don  on  the  west;  never  had  parliament  possessed,  upon  one 
pomt,  so  great  an  army;  and  at  the  first  report  of  the  W's 
approach,  it  was  augmented  by  five  regiments  of  the  LoS 
mihtia  under  the  command  of  sir  James  Harrington.  At  the 
same  time,  new  taxes  were  imposed;  the  commons  ordered 
that  the  king's  plate,  till  then  preserved  in  the  Tower,  should 

known  that  the  two  armies  were  in  presence  of  each  other  the 
SlTsM '"^'^^'^  r^^^  ^"^^"^  ''  ^^-  churchesa^da 

J^  '^'u  ""T^  ""'/"  ^^'^  ""'^y^  '^  ^^«  ^aily  expected  :  Essex 
alone,  ill,  despondent,  remained  inactive  in  London    though 

ZTlT''  '''  command  of  the  army.  Informed  S 
on  h?^^  .'''''  parliament  charged  a  joint  committee  to  wait 
on  him  and  renew  the  assurance  of  its  trusting  affection.  Es- 
sex  thanked  the  committee,  but  did  not  join  his  army.J  The 
batUe  was  fought  without  him,  on  the  27th  of  October,  at 
iNewbury,  almost  on  the  same  ground  on  which,  the  year  be- 

Ru^wortnf'rviT  '"  ^""'""^  ^"""^  ^^""^^  September  30th,  1644; 


268 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


269 


fore,  on  his  return  from  Gloucester,  he  had  so  gloriously  con- 
quered. Lord  Manchester  commanded  in  his  absence.  The 
action  was  long  and  desperate ;  Essex's  soldiers  in  particular 
performed  prodigies ;  at  the  sight  of  the  cannon  they  had 
recently  lost  in  Cornwall,  they  rushed  fiercely  on  the  royal 
batteries,  recovered  their  artillery,  and  brought  it  back  to  their 
own  lines,  embracing  the  guns  in  the  transport  of  their  joy. 
On  the  other  hand,  some  of  Manchester's  regiments  suffered 
a  severe  check.  For  awhile,  both  parties  claimed  the  victory; 
but,  next  morning,  the  king,  renouncing  his  project  against 
London,  commenced  his  retreat,  and  proceeded  to  Oxford  to 
take  up  his  winter  quarters.* 

Meantime  parliament  said  very  little  about  its  triumph  ;  no 
public  thanks  were  offered  up,  and  the  day  after  the  news  of 
the  battle  reached  London,  the  monthly  fast,  observed  by  both 
houses,  took  place,  as  usual  (Nov.  30,  1644),  as  if  there  were 
no  subject  for  rejoicing.  The  public  were  astonished  at  so 
much  coldness.  Disagreeable  rumors  began  to  circulate  ;  the 
victory,  it  was  said,  might  have  been  far  more  decisive  ;  but 
discord  reigned  among  the  generals ;  they  had  suffered  the 
king  to  retreat  without  impediment,  almost  in  the  very  face 
of  the  army,  in  a  bright  moonlight,  when  the  least  movement 
might  have  prevented  it.  It  was  much  worse  when  the  news 
came  that  the  king  had  just  re-appeared  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Newbury,  that  he  had,  without  interruption,  removed  his 
artillery  from  Donnington  castle  (Nov.  9),f  and  even  offered  to 
renew  the  battle,  without  the  parliamentary  army  quitting  its 
inaction.  The  clamor  became  general  ;  the  house  of  com- 
mons  ordered  an  inquiry  ;  Cromwell  only  waited  for  this 
opportunity  to  break  out :  "  It  is  to  the  earl  of  Manchester," 
he  said,  *'  all  the  blame  is  to  be  imputed  ;  ever  since  the 
battle  of  Marston  Moor,  he  is  afraid  to  conquer,  afraid  of  a 
great  and  decisive  success  ;  but  now,  when  the  king  was  last 
near  Newbury,  nothing  would  have  been  more  easy  than 
entirely  to  destroy  his  army ;  I  went  to  the  general,  I  showed 
him  evidently  how  this  could  be  done,  I  desired  his  leave  to 
make  the  attack  with  my  own  brigade  ;  other  officers  urged 
this  with  me,  but  he  obstinately  refused ;  saying  only,  that  if 

•  Whitelocke,  109;  Clarendon,  ii.,  827;  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  296 ;  Rush- 
worth,  ii.,  3,  721—730. 

t  Rush  worth,  ii.,  3,  729 — 732  :  Clarend©n,  ut  sup. 


we  were  entirely  to  overthrow  the  king's  army,  the  king 
would  still  be  king,  and  always  have  another  army  to  keep 
up  the  war ;  while  we,  if  we  were  beaten,  should  no  longer 
be  anything  but  rebels  and  traitors,  executed  and  forfeited  by 
the  law."  These  last  words  greatly  moved  parliament, 
which  could  not  endure  that  any  one  should  suggest  a  doubt 
as  to  the  legality  of  its  resistance.  Nes^t  day,  in  the  upper 
house,  Manchester  answered  this  attack,  explained  his  con- 
duct, his  words,  and  in  his  turn  accused  Cromwell  of  insubor- 
dination, of  falsehood,  nay,  of  treachery  ;  for  on  the  day  of 
the  battle,  he  said,  neither  he  nor  his  regiment  appealed  at 
the  post  assigned  to  them.  Cromwell  did  not  reply  to  this 
charge,  but  only  renewed  his  own  accusations  more  violently 
than  before.* 

The  presbyterians  were  greatly  excited  ;  for  a  long  time 
past,  Cromwell  had  given  rise  to  much  alarm  in  their  minds. 
1  hey  had   seen  him   at  first  supple  and  fawning  with  Man- 
chester, exalting  him  on  all  occasions  at  the  expense  of  Essex, 
and  acquiring,  by  degrees,  over  his  army  more  power  than  he 
himself  had.     He  had  made  it  the  refuge  of  the  independents, 
ot  sectaries  of  every  class,  enemies  of  the  covenant  as  of  the 
king  ;  under  his  protection  a  fanatical  license  reigned  there ; 
each  man  talked,  prayed,  and  even  preached  according  to  his 
own  fancy  and  his  own  will.     In  vain,  to  countervail  Crom- 
well's influence,   had  they  appointed  colonel  Skeldon  Craw- 
lord,  a  Scotchman,  and  rigid  presbyterian,  major-general ;  all 
that  Crawford  had  done,  as  yet,  was  to  make  an  absurd  charge 
ot  cowardice  against  Cromwell,  while  Cromwell,  constantly 
occupied  in  detecting  his  adversary's  faults,  in  depreciating 
him  m  the  opinion  of  the  soldiers,   in  denouncing  him   to 
parliament  and  to  the  people,  soon  rendered  him  incapable  of 
doing  any  harm.f     Emboldened  by  this  success,  and  by  the 
visible  progress  of  his  party,  he  had  openly  declared  himself 
the  protector  of  liberty  of  conscience,  and  had  even  obtained 
trom  parliament,  with  the  aid  of  the  free-thinkers  and  philoso- 
phers, the  formation  of  a  committee  (Sept.  13) J  charged  to 
inquire  how  best  they  might  satisfy  the  dissenters,  or  at  least 

*  Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  732-736;  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  297;  Ludlow,  63; 
Clarendon,  ii.,  840 ;  Holies,  Memoirs,  19.  >  .       , 

t  Baillie's  Letters,  ii,  40. 
t  lb.,  57;  Journals,  Commons,  Sept.  13. 

23* 


270 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


271 


leave  them  in  peace.     Now  he  attacked  Manchester  himself, 
never  mentioned  the  Scots  but  with  insult,  spoke   largely 
of  triumphing  without  them,  and  even  of  driving  them  out  of 
England,  if  they  attempted  to  oppress  it  in  their  turn  ;  in  a 
word,  carried  his  daring  so  far,   as  to  bring  into  question  the 
throne  itself,  the  lords,  the  whole  ancient  and  legal  order  of 
the  country.*     Alaymed   and   indignant,   the  leaders  of  the 
presbyterian  and  moderate  political  parties,  and  the  Scottish 
commissioners.  Holies,  Stapleton,  Merrick,  Glynn,  &c.,  met 
at  Essex's  house  to  devise  means  for  defeating  so  dangerous 
an  enemy.     After  a  long  conference,  they  resolved  to  consult 
Whitelocke   and   Maynard,   both  eminent  lawyers  and  both 
highly  respected  by  the  house,  and  whom  they  had  reason  to 
believe  favorable  to  their  cause.     They  were  sent  for  in  the 
name  of  the  lord-general,  nearly  in  the  middle  of  the  night, 
without  their  being  told   for  what  purpose.     They   arrived 
somewhat  alarmed  at  the  hour  and  the  circumstances.     After 
a  few   compliments  :  "  Gentlemen,"  said  lord  Lowden,  the 
Scottish  chancellor,  "you  know  very  well  that  lieutenant- 
general  Cromwell  is  no  friend  of  ours,  and  since  the  advance 
of  our  army  into  England,  he  hath  used  all  underhand  and 
cunning  means  to  take  off  from  our  honor  and  merit  of  this 
kingdom ;  he  is  also  no  well-wilier  to  his  excellency,  whom 
you  and  we  all  have  cause  to  love  and  honor ;  you  know  very 
well  the  accord  betwixt  the  two  kingdoms,  and  the  union  by 
the  solemn  league  and  covenant,  and  if  any  be  an  incendiary 
between  the  two  nations,  how  is  he  to  be  proceeded  against  ? 
By  our  law   in  Scotland,  we  call  him  an  incendiary  who 
kindleth  coals  of  contention  and  causeth  differences  in  the 
state,  to  the  public  damage,  and  he  is  tanquam  pubUcus  hostis 
patrice.     Whether  your  law  be  the  same  or  not,  and  whether 
lieutenant-general  Cromwell  be  not  such  an  incendiary  as  is 
meant  by  our  term,  and  in  which  way  would  be  best  to  take 
to  proceed  against  him,  if  he  be  such  an  incendiary,  you 
know  best." 

The  two  lawyers  looked  at  each  other ;  all  were  waiting 
for  their  answer.  After  a  few  moments'  silence,  Whitelocke 
rose,  and  said  :  "I  see  none  of  this  honorable  company  is 
pleased  to  discourse  further  on  these  points,  and  I  shall  there- 

*  Whitelocke,  116  ;  Journals,  Lords,  Nov.  28,  1644  ;  Clarendon,  ut 
»up. 


fore,  with  submission  to  his  excellency,  declare  humbly  and 
freely  my  opinion  upon  those  particulars  which  have  been  so 
clearly  proposed  and  opened  by  my  lord  chancellor.  The 
sense  of  the  word  '  incendiary '  is  the  same  with  us  as  his 
lordship  hath  expressed  it  to  be  by  the  law  of  Scotland; 
whether  lieutenant-general  Cromwell  is  such  an  incendiary 
cannot  be  known  but  by  proofs  of  his  particular  words  or  ac- 
tions, tending  to  the  kindling  of  this  fire  of  contention  betwixt 
the  two  nations,  and  raising  of  differences  between  us.  I  take 
for  a  ground  that  my  lord-general  and  my  lords  the  commis- 
sioners of  Scotland,  being  persons  of  so  great  honor  and  au- 
thority as  you  are,  must  not  appear  in  any  business,  especially 
of  an  accusation,  but  such  as  you  shall  see  beforehand  will  be 
clearly  made  out,  and  be  brought  to  the  effect  intended.  I 
take  lieutenant-general  Cromwell  to  be  a  gentleman  of  quick 
and  subtle  parts,  and  who  hath,  especially  of  late,  gained  no 
small  interest  in  the  house  of  commons,  nor  is  he  wanting  of 
friends  in  the  house  of  peers,  nor  of  abilities  in  himself  to 
manage  his  own  part  or  defence  to  the  best  advantage.  I  have 
not  yet  heard  any  particulars  mentioned  by  his  excellency, 
nor  by  my  lord-chancellor  or  any  other,  nor  do  I  know  any  in 
my  private  observations,  which  will  amount  to  a  clear  proof 
of  such  matters  as  will  satisfy  the  house  of  commons  that 
lieutenant-general  Cromwell  is  an  incendiary,  and  to  be  pun- 
ished accordingly.  I  apprehend  it  to  be  doubtful,  and  there- 
fore cannot  advise  that  at  this  time  he  should  be  accused  for  an 
incendiary ;  but  rather  that  direction  may  be  given  to  collect 
such  particular  passages  relating  to  him,  and  that  this  being 
done,  we  may  again  wait  on  your  excellency,  if  you  please, 
and  upon  view  of  those  proofs  we  shall  be  the  better  able  to 
advise  and  your  lordships  to  judge  what  will  be  fit  to  be  done 
in  this  matter." 

Maynard  concurred  with  Whitelocke,  adding,  that  the  word 
"incendiary  "  was  little  used  in  English  law,  and  would  give 
rise  to  great  uncertainty.  Holies,  Stapleton,  and  Merrick, 
strongly  urged  their  views,  saying,  that  Cromwell  had  not  so 
much  influence  in  the  house,  that  they  would  readily  take  it 
upon  themselves  to  accuse  him,  and  they  mentioned  facts  and 
words  which  they  said  clearly  proved  his  designs.  But  the 
Scottish  commissioners  refused  to  engage  in  the  struggle. 
Towards  two  in  the  morning,  Maynard  and  Whitelocke  retired, 


272 


HISTOEY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


273 


and  the  conference  had  no  other  result  than  to  excite  Crom- 
well to  quicken  his  steps;  for  *' some  false  brother,"  says 
Whitelocke,  probably  Whitelocke  himself,  *'  informed  him  of 
what  had  passed."* 

Essex  and  his  friends  sought  another  sort  of  remedy  for  the 
evil  which  threatened  them ;  all  their  thoughts  were  directed 
towards  peace.  The  subject  had  never  been  wholly  withdrawn 
from  the  consideration  of  parliament :  on  one  occasion  a  formal 
motion  had  produced  a  debate  and  a  division  favorable  to  peace, 
in  which  very  few  votes,  that,  indeed,  of  the  speaker  alone, 
decided  the  fate  of  the  country  (March  29)  ;t  and  once  again, 
the  ambassadors  of  France  and  Holland,  who  were  continually 
going  backwards  and  forwards  between  London  and  Oxford 
and  Oxford  and  London,  offered  their  mediation,  rarely  sin- 
cere, and  always  eluded,  though  with  some  embarrassment,  on 
both  sides.:|:  So  many  persons  desired  peace,  that  no  one  would 
have  dared  to  show  himself  openly  opposed  to  it ;  and  for  the 
last  six  months,  a  committee  of  members  of  both  houses,  and 
of  Scotch  commissioners,  had  been  engaged  in  framing  pro- 
posals  on  the  subject. 

All  at  once  the  presbyterian  party  pressed  forward  the  work ; 
in  a  few  days  the  proposals  were  presented  to  both  houses,  de- 
bated, and  adopted  (Nov.  8)  ;§  and  on  the  20th  of  November 
nine  commissioners  departed  to  carry  them  to  the  king.  They 
thought  he  was  at  Wallingford,  and  presented  themselves  be- 
fore that  place  ;  after  waiting  two  hours,  while  their  mission, 
their  safe-conduct,  their  retinue,  were  successively  made  the 
subjects  of  quibbling  discussion,  the  governor,  colonel  Blake, 
at  last  received  them^  to  tell  them  that  the  king  was  gone,  and 
that  they  would  probably  find  him  at  Oxford.  They  wished 
to  sleep  at  Wallingford,  but  the  conversation  between  Blake 

*  Whitelocke,  117;  Wood,  Athenae  Oxoniensis,  ii,,  546. 

t  On  the  motion  to  appoint  a  committee  to  examine  the  offer  of  me- 
diation made  by  the  ambassador  of  Holland,  the  house  of  commons 
divided,  sixty-four  to  sixty-four :  the  speaker  gave  a  casting  vote  in  the 
negative  ;  Pari.  Hist.,  ii,,  253. 

f  The  ambassadors  of  Holland  offered  the  mediation  of  the  states- 
general  on  the  20th  of  March,  the  12th  of  July,  and  the  7th  of  No- 
vember, 1644;  the  count  d'Harcourt,  ambassador  of  France,  who 
arrived  in  London  in  July,  1644,  had  an  audience  with  parliament  on 
the  14th  of  August,  and*left  England  in  February,  1645  ;  Pari.  Hist, 
iii.,  252,  253,  278,  285,  293,  298,  314 ;  Clarendon,  ii.,  602. 

§ParL  Hist,  iii.,  299. 


and  lord  Denbigh,  president  of  the  committee,  soon  became  so 
warm,  Blake  s  language  so  rude,  and  the  attitude  of  his  gar- 
rison so  menacmg,  that  they  judged  it  prudent  to  retire  without 

^^i-.*i    uM,''^''^  ^^^'  °''  arriving  near  Oxford,  they  stopped 
on  a  little  hill,  at  a  short  distance  from  the  city,  and  announced 
themselves  to  the  governor  by  a  trumpeter.      Some   hours 
passed   and  no  answer  was  returned.     The  king,  walking  in 
his  garden,  perceived  on  the  hill  the  group  formed  by  the  com- 
missioners and  their  suite,  inquired  who  those  people  were, 
and  on  being  informed,  immediately  sent  Mr.  Killigrew  with 
orders  to  introduce  them  into  the  city,  provide  lodgings  for  them 
and  express  his  regret  that  they  should  have  been  kept  waiting 
so  long.     As  they  passed  through  the  streets  of  Oxford,  under 
the  escort  of  a  few  cavaliers,  the  populace  collected  together, 
loaded  them  with  abuse,  and  even  pelted  them  with  stones 
^"ui.*^  j'  ^T^^^"  to  a  miserable  inn,  they  had  scarcely  es- 
tablished themselves,  when  a  violent  tumult  arose  near  their 
apartment;  Holies  and  Whitelocke  immediately  went  out  • 
some  royalist  officers  had  entered  the  great  room,  and  were 
quarrellmg  with  the  commissioners'  people,  calling  them  and 
their  masters  "wretches,"  "traitors,''  "rebels,"  and  not  suf- 
termg  them  to  come  near  the  fire.     Holies  seized  one  of  the 
officers  by  the  collar,  and  roughly  shaking  him,  pushed  him 
out  of  the  room,  reproaching  him  for  his  conduct :  Whitelocke 
did  the  same ;  the  doors  of  the  inn  were  closed,  and  the  govern- 
or placed  a  guard  there.     In  the  evening,  several  members  of 
the  council,  Hyde  among  others,  came  to  see  the  commis- 
sioners,  apologized  for  the  disturbance  which  had  taken  place 
manifested  an  extreme  desire  to  co-operate  with  them  in  ob' 
taming  peace,  and  the  king  sent  word  that  he  would  receive 
them  next  day  (Nov.  2).* 

The  audience  was  brief:  lord  Denbigh  read  the  proposals 
01  parliament  aloud,  in  presence  of  the  council  and  the  court  • 
they  were  such  as  the  king  did  not  think  himself  reduced  to 
accept ;  they  required  him  to  surrender  his  power  to  the  dis- 
trust of  parliament,  his  party  to  its  vengeance.  More  than 
once  a  murmur  of  anger  broke  forth  from  among  those  present  : 
at  one  time  particularly,  when  lord  Denbigh  named  prince 
Kupert  and  prince  Maurice,  who  were  standing  by,  as  ex- 

♦  Whitelocke,  112 ;  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  310. 


if 


274 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


275 


eluded  from  any  amnesty,  a  roar  of  laughter  was  on  the  lips 
of  the  courtiers  ;  but  the  king,  turning  round  with  a  severe 
look,  imposed  silence  on  all,  and  continued  to  listen  patiently 
and  gravely.  The  reading  over:  "Have  you  power  to 
treat?"  asked  he  of  lord  Denbigh.  "No,  sir ;  we  had  in 
charge  to  bring  these  propositions  to  you,  and  desire  your  an- 
swer  in  writing."  "  Well,"  replied  the  king,  "  I  will  give  it 
you  as  soon  as  I  can  ;"  and  the  commissioners  returned  to  their 

inn.* 

The  same  evening,  with  the  consent  of  their  colleagues, 
Holies  and  Whitelocke  paid  a  visit  to  lord  Lindsey,  a  gentle- 
man of  the  chamber,  and  an  old  friend,  whose  wounds  had 
prevented  him  from  coming  to  them.  They  had  scarcely 
been  with  him  a  quarter  of  an  hour  when  the  king  came  in, 
and  advancing  towards  them  with  an  air  of  kindness,  said,  "  I 
am  sorry,  gentlemen,  that  you  can  bring  me  no  better  propo- 
sitions  for  peace,  nor  more  reasonable  than  these  are."  "  Sir," 
replied  Holies,  "  they  are  such  as  the  parliament  thought  fit 
to  agree  on,  and  I  hope  a  good  issue  may  be  had  out  of  them." 
The  king  :  "  I  know  you  could  bring  no  other  than  what  they 
would  send,  but  I  confess  I  do  not  a  little  wonder  at  some  of 
them,  particularly  at  the  qualifications ;  surely  you  yourselves 
cannot  think  them  to  be  reasonable  or  honorable  for  me  to 
grant."  Holies :  "  Truly,  sir,  I  could  have  wished  that  some 
of  them  had  been  otherwise  than  they  are,  but  your  majesty 
knows  that  these  things  are  all  carried  by  the  major  vote." 
The  king  :  "  I  know  they  are,  and  am  confident  you  who  are 
here  and  your  friends  (I  must  not  say  your  party)  in  the  house, 
endeavored  to  have  had  them  otherwise ;  for  I  know  you  are 
well-willers  to  peace."  Whitelocke :  •'  I  have  had  the  honor 
to  attend  your  majesty  often  here  before  upon  this  errand,  and 
am  sorry  it  was  not  to  better  effect."  The  king :  "  I  wish, 
Mr.  Whitelocke,  that  others  had  been  of  your  judgment  and 
Mr.  Holles's  judgment,  and  then,  I  believe,  we  had  a  happy 
end  to  our  differences  before  now  ;  for  my  part,  I  do  earnestly 
desire  peace ;  and  in  order  to  it,  and  out  of  the  confidence  I 
have  of  you  two  that  are  here  with  me,  I  ask  your  opinion 
and  advice  what  answer  will  be  best  for  me  to  give  at  this 
time  to  your  proposition,  which  may  probably  farmer  such  a 

•  Pari.  Hist,  ui.,  310. 


peace  as  all  good  men  desire."     Holies:  "Your  majesty  will 
pardon  us  if  we  are  not  capable,  in  our  present  condition,  to 
advise  your  majesty."     Whitelocke:  "We  now  by  accident 
have  the  honor  to  be  in  your  majesty's  presence ;    but  our 
present  employment  disables  us  from  advising  your  majesty, 
if  we  were  otherwise  worthy,  in  this  particular."     The  king: 
"  For  your  abilities  I  am  able  to  judge,  and  I  now  look  not  on 
you  in  your  employments  from  the  parliament,  but  as  friends 
and  my  private  subjects,  I  require  your  advice."    Holies :  "  To 
speak  in  a  private  capacity,  your  majesty  sees  that  we  have 
been  very  free  ;  and  touching  your  answer,  I  shall  say  further, 
thaU  think  the  best  answer  would  be  your  own  coming  amongst 
us."     The  king  :    "  How  can  I  come  thither  with  safety  ?" 
Holies  :    "  I  am  confident  there  would  be  no  danger  to  your 
person  to  come  away  directly  to  your  parliament."  The  king: 
"  That  may  be  a  question;  but  I  suppose  your  principals  who 
sent  you  hither  will  expect  a  present  answer  to  your  message." 
Whitelocke :  "  The  best  present  and  the  most  satisfactory  an- 
swer,  I  humbly  believe,  would  be  your  majesty's  presence 
with  your  parliament."     The  king  :    "  Let  us  pass  by  that  ; 
and  let  me  desire  you  two,  Mr.  Holies  and  Mr.  Whitelocke,  to 
go  mto  the  next  room,  and  a  little  confer  together,  and  to  set 
down  somewhat  in  writing,  which  you  apprehend  may  be  fit 
for  me  to  return  as  an  answer  to  your  message,  and  that,  in 
your  judgment,  may  facilitate  and  promote  this  good  work  of 
peace."    Holies :  "  We  shall  obey  your  majesty's  command." 
They  both  went  into  another  room ;  and,  after  some  hesi- 
tation,  Whitelocke,  carefully  disguising  his  handwriting,  drew 
up  the  opinion  the  king  had  requested  of  them ;  then,  leaving 
the  paper  on  the  table,  they  rejoined  his  majesty.     The  king 
went  by  himself  into  the   room  they  had  quitted,  took   the 
paper,  came  back  with  it,  and  then,  after  some  conversation, 
very  gracious  on  his  part,  withdrew.      The  commissioners 
directly  returned   to   their   inn,  and   maintained   with   their 
colleagues,  a  profound  silence  as  to  what  had  passed.* 

Three  days  after  (Nov.  27),*  the  king  sent  for  the  com- 
mittee,  and,  delivering  to  lord  Denbigh  a  sealed  paper,  with- 
out  superscription,  said :  «  This  is  my  answer ;  take  it  to 
those  who  sent  you."     Surprised  at  this  unusual  form,  and  at 

•  Whitelocke,  113  ;  Holies,  Memoiri,  38. 


11 


Ill 


276 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


277 


finding  the  king  so  obstinate  in  refusing  to  give  the  name  of 
parliament  to  the  houses  at  Westminster,  the  earl  begged 
leave  to  retire  for  a  moment  with  his  colleagues  to  deliberate 
on  what  they  should  do.  "  Why  should  you  deliberate  ? 
said  the  king  ;  "  you  have  no  power  to  treat ;  you  told  me  so 
yourself  when  you  arrived,  and  I  know  you  have  had  no  post 
since.''  Lord  Denbigh  insisted,  alleging  that  the  committee 
might  perhaps  have  some  observations  to  offer  to  his  majesty. 
"  Gentlemen,"  said  the  king,  warmly,  "  I  will  hear  anything 
vou  have  to  deliver  from  London,  but  none  of  the  fancies  and 
chimeras  taken  up  at  Oxford ;  by  your  favor,  you  shall  put 
no  tricks  on  me."  "  Sir,"  replied  the  earl,  -  we  are  not 
persons  to  put  tricks  upon  any  one,  much  less  upon  your 
majesty."  "  I  mean  it  not  to  you."  "  Will  your  majesty  at 
least  allow  us  to  inquire  to  whom  this  paper  is  addressed  i 
« It  is  my  answer  ;  you  must  take  it,  if  it  were  a  ballad,  or  a 
song  of  Robin  Hood."  "  The  business  which  brought  us  here, 
sire,  is  of  somewhat  more  importance  than  a  ballad.  1 

know  it :  but  I  repeat,  you  told  me  you  had  no  power  to  treat ; 
my  memory  is  as  good  as  yours ;  you  were  only  charged  to 
deliver  these  proposals  to  me  ;  an  honest  postillion  would  have 
done  as  well."     *'  I  hope  your  majesty  does  not  take  us  for 
postillions."     "  I  do  not  say  that ;  but,  once  more,  this  is  my 
answer  :  you  must  take  it ;  I  am  not  bound  to  anything  more. 
The  conversation  became  warmer  every  moment.      Holies 
and  Pierpoint  endeavored  in  vain  to  get  the  king  to  say,  that 
he  addressed  his  message  to  the  two  chambers.      1  he  com- 
missioners  at  last  agreed  to  receive  it  in  its  existing  form,  and 
quitted  the  presence.     In  the  evening,  Mr.  Ashburnham,  the 
king's  valet-de-chambre,  came  to  them.      ^'  His  majesty,    he 
said,  "  is  sensible  some  words  may  have  fallen  from  him  in 
his  passion  that  might  give  discontent ;  it  was  not  so  intended 
by  him,  and  he  desires  the  best  construction  may  be  put  upon 
it  "     The  commissioners  made  protestations  of  their  respect- 
ful deference  to  the  king's  words,  and  set  out  for  London, 
accompanied  by  a  trumpeter,  authorized  to  receive  the  answer 
of  parliament  to  the  sealed  paper  of  which  they  were  the 
bearers.* 

•  Rushworth,  ii.,3,843;  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  309-312;  Whitelocke, 
114  LorTDekbigh's  report  and  Whitelocke's  narrative  though  both 
eye  witnesses,  present  several  important  points  of  difference  here, 


It  only  contained  the  request  of  a  safe-conduct  for  the  duke 
of  Richmond  and  the  earl  of  Southampton,  by  whom  the  king 
promised  to  send,  in  a  few  days,  an  express  and  detailed 
answer.     The  safe-conduct  was  at  once  granted  ;  and  imme- 
diately upon  their  arrival  (Dec.  14),  the  two  lords  had  an 
audience  (Dec.  16).     Even  they  did  not  bring  any  answer ; 
their  official  mission  was  limited  to  a  request  that  conferences 
should  be  opened,  and  negotiators  named  on  both  sides  to  treat 
of  peace.     But  after  delivering  this  message,  they  remained 
in  London  ;  the  report  spread  that  a  crowd  of  suspected  per- 
sons were  arriving  ;  several  members  of  the  two  houses  had 
frequent  interviews  with  the  two  lords.     The  common  council, 
in  which  the  independents  prevailed,  manifested  great  uneasi- 
ness.    The  two  lords '  were  requested  to  depart ;  they  still 
lingered  under  frivolous  pretexts.     The  agitation  increased ; 
the  passions  of  the  people  threatened  to  break  out  before 
party  intrigues  could  be  accomplished.     At  last,  urged  even 
by  the   friends  of  peace,  the  two   lords  returned  to  Oxford 
(Dec.   24),   and   three  weeks  after  their  departure,   it  was 
agreed  that  forty  commissioners,  twenty-three  from  the  parlia- 
ments of  the  two  kingdoms,  and  seventeen  from  the  king, 
should  meet  at  Uxbridge,  to  discuss  regularly  the  conditions 
of  a  treaty.* 

But  while  the  presbyterians  were  negotiating  peace,  the 
independents  were  preparing  war.  On  the  9th  of  December, 
the  commons  had  assembled  to  take  into  consideration  the 
sufferings  of  the  kingdom,  and  to  devise  some  remedy  for 
them.  No  one  rose  to  speak  ;  all  seemed  expecting  some 
decisive  measure,  of  which  every  one  wished  to  avo'd  the 
responsibility.  After  a  long  silence,  Cromwell  addressed  the 
house :  '*  Now  is  the  time  to  spe^ik,  or  for  ever  hold  the 
tongue.  The  important  occasion  is  no  less  than  to  save  a 
nation,  out  of  the  bleeding,  nay  almost  dying  condition,  the 
long  continuance  of  the  war  hath  already  reduced  it  to.  If 
we  do  not  prosecute  this  war  in  a  more  speedy,  vigorous,  and 
effectual  manner,  casting  off  all  lingering  proceedings,  like 

but  they  may  be  explained  by  the  official  character  of  the  first  of  these 
documents,  evidently  arranged  among  the  commissioners,  so  that  it 
would  suit  parliament  and  the  occasion.     Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  309. 

♦  Rushworth,  ii.,  3, 844—846 ;  Pari.  Hisi ,  iii.,  310—320 ;  Clarendon, 
ii.,  860. 

24 


278 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH  REVOLUTION. 


27^ 


soldiers  oi   fortune  beyond  sea,  to  spin  out  a  war,  we  shall 
make  the  kingdom  weary  of  us,  and  hate  the  name  of  a  par- 
liament.    For  what  do  the  enemy  say,  nay,  what  do  many 
say  that  were  friends  at  the  beginning  of  the  parliament  ? 
Even  this,  that  the  members  of  both  houses  have  got  great 
places  and  commands,  and  the  sword  into  their  hands,  and 
what  by  interest  in  parliament,  and  what  by  power  in  the 
army,  will  perpetually  continue  themselves  in  grandeur,  and 
not  permit  the  war  speedily  to  end,  lest  their  own  power 
should  determine  with  it.      This  I  speak  here  to  our  own 
faces  is  but  what  others  do  utter  abroad  behind  our  backs.     I 
am  far  from  reflecting  on  any  ;  I   know  the  worth  of  those 
commanders,  members  of  both  houses,  who  are  yet  in  power  ; 
but  if  I  may  speak  my  conscience,  without  reflection  on  any, 
I  do  conceive,  if  the  army  be  not  put  into  another  method,  and 
the  war  more  vigorously  prosecuted,  the  people  can  bear  the 
war  no  longer,  and  will  enforce  you  to  a  dishonorable  peace. 
But  this  I  would  recommend  to  your  prudence,  not  to  insist 
upon  any  complaint  or  oversight  of  any  commander-in-chief 
upon  any  occasion  whatsoever ;    for  as  I  must  acknowledge 
myself  guilty  of  oversights,  so  I  know  they  can  rarely  be 
avoided  in  military  affairs ;  therefore,  waiving  a  strict  inquiry 
into  the  causes  of  these  things,  let  us  apply  ourselves  to  the 
remedy  which  is  most  necessary  ;  and  I  hope  we  have  each 
true  English  hearts  and  zealous  affections  towards  the  general 
weal  of  our  mother  country,  so  as  no  members  of  either  house 
will  scruple  to  deny  themselves  of  their  own  private  interests 
for  the  public  good  ;  nor  account  it  to  be  a  dishonor  done  to 
them,   whatever  the  parliament   shall   resolve  upon  in  this 
weighty  matter." 

Another  member  went  on  :  "  whatever  is  the  matter,  two 
summers  are  passed  over,  and  we  are  not  saved.  Our  victo- 
ries (the  price  of  blood  invaluable)  so  gallantly  gotten,  and, 
which  is  more,  so  graciously  bestowed,  seem  to  have  been  put 
into  a  bag  with  hole  '  ;  for  what  we  win  at  one  time,  v^^e  lose 
at  another.  A  summer's  victory  has  proved  but  a  winter's 
story  :  the  game  has  shut  up  with  autumn,  to  be  new  played 
again  next  spring,  as  if  the  blood  that  has  been  shed  were  only 
to  manure  the  field  of  war,  for  a  more  plentiful  crop  of  con- 
tention. I  determine  nothing ;  but  this  I  would  say,  it  is 
apparent  that  the  forces  being  under  several  great  commanders, 


want  of  good  correspondency  amongst  the  chieftains  has  often- 
times hindered  the  public  service."  "  There  is  but  one  means 
of  ending  so  many  evils,"  said  Zouch  Tate,  an  obscure  fanatic, 
and  whom  the  importance  of  his  proposal  did  not  draw  from 
his  obscurity  ;  "  which  is  that  every  one  of  us  should  freely 
renounce  himself.  I  move,  that  no  member  of  either  house 
shall,  during  this  war,  enjoy  or  execute  any  office  or  com- 
mand, civil  or  military,  and  that  an  ordinance  be  brought  in 
accordingly."* 

This  proposal  was  not  absolutely  new  ;  already,  the  year 
before  (Dec.  12,  1643),  a  similar  idea  had  been  expressed  in 
the  upper  house,  though  casually  and  without  result  ;f  and 
recently  (Nov.  14,  1644),  the  commons,  doubtless  to  appease 
public  clamor,  had  ordered  an  inquiry^  into  the  number  and 
value  of  the  offices  of  all  kinds  held  by  members  of  parliament. 
Either  by  design  or  from  embarrassment,  the  presbyterians 
hesitated  at  first  to  oppose  Tate's  motion,  and  it  passed  almost 
without  objection.  But  two  days  after,  when  it  was  again 
brought  forward  in  the  form  of  a  distinct  resolution,  the  debate 
was  long  and  violent,  and  was  renewed  four  times  in  the  course 
of  a  week  (Dec.  11,  14,  17,  19).  It  was  clear  that  it  was 
intended  to  take  from  the  moderate  politicians,  from  the  pres- 
byterians, from  the  first  leaders  of  the  revolution,  the  execu- 
tive power,  to  confine  them  to  Westminster  Hall,  and  to  form 
an  army  independent  of  parliament.  The  opposition  was 
renewed  at  each  sitting,  every  time  with  more  warmth.  Even 
some  who  were  in  the  habit  of  keeping  fair  with  the  indepen- 
dents, spoke  against  the  measure.  "  You  know,"  said  White- 
locke,  '<  that  among  the  Greeks  and  Romans  the  greatest 
offices,  both  of  war  and  peace,  were  conferred  upon  their 
senators :  and  their  reasons  were,  because  they,  having  greater 
interests  than  others,  were  the  more  capable  to  do  them  the 
greatest  service.  And  having  the  same  interest  with  the 
senate,  and  present  at  their  debates,  they  understood  their 
business  the  better,  and  were  less  apt  to  break  that  trust 
which  so  nearly  concerned  their  private  interests,  which  were 
involved  with  the  public.  I  humbly  submit  the  application  to 
your  judgment ;    your  ancestors  did  this  ;    they  thought  the 

*  Rushworth,  i,,  4,  3 — 5  ;   Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  326  ;  Clarendon,  ii.,  848 ; 
whose  account  is  evidently  inexact, 
t  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  187.  |  Journals,  Commons. 


'> 


1 1. 


280 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


281 


members  of  parliament  fittest  to  be  employed  in  the  greatest 
offices ;  I  hope  you  will  be  of  the  same  judgment,  and  not  at 
this  time  pass  this  ordinance,  and  thereby  discourage  your 
faithful  servants."* 

Others  went  still  further,  and  openly  denounced  the  secret 
ambition  of  their  rivals.  "  You  talk  of  self- renouncing,"  said 
they  ;  "  it  will  be  only  the  triumph  of  envy  and  self-ends,  "f 
But  the  public  had  little  faith  in  these  predictions  ;  the  pres- 
byterian  party  was  worn  out  and  in  discredit ;  all  who  did 
not  belong  to  it,  saw  it  fall  without  regret.  Though  the  inde- 
pendents were  far  from  being  in  a  majority  in  the  house,  their 
proposition  passed  triumphantly  through  all  its  stages  :  in  vain, 
as  a  last  endeavor,  did  the  friends  of  Essex  require  that  he 
should  be  excepted  from  the  prohibition  ;  their  amendment 
was  rejected  ;  and,  on  the  21st  of  December,  the  ordinance 
was  definitively  adopted,:):  and  transmitted  to  the  house  of 
lords. 

The  presbyterians  rested  all  their  hopes  in  that  house  ;  the 
peers  had  an  imperative  interest  in  rejecting  the  bill ;  almost 
all  of  them  were  affected  by  it ;  by  it  they  would  lose  every 
vestige  of  power.  But  then,  herein,  as  regarded  public 
opinion,  was  precisely  a  source  of  discredit  and  weakness. 
To  diminish  the  effect  of  this,  to  free  themselves  from  all  sus- 
picion of  connivance  with  the  court  at  Oxford,  to  discourage 
the  royalist  plots,  always  ready  to  break  out,  above  all,  to  gra- 
tify the  passions  of  the  presbyterian  party,  the  leaders  of  that 
party,  while  they  sought  to  check  the  progress  of  revolution, 
offered  it  concessions  and  victims.  Four  prosecutions,  begun 
long  ago,  but  which  had  been  left  in  abeyance,  were  resumed 
and  energetically  pushed  forward  ;  that  of  lord  Macguire,  for 
taking  part  in  the  Irish  rebellion  ;  of  the  two  Hothams,  father 
and  son,  for  having  agreed  to  surrender  Hull  to  the  king  ;  of 
Sir  Alexander  Carew  for  a  similar  offence  in  the  isle  of  St. 
Nicholas,  of  which  he  was  governor ;  finally,  of  Laud,  al- 
ready more  than  once  begun,  laid  aside,  and  resumed.  Mac- 
guire, the  Hothams,  and  Carew,  were  guilty  of  recent  crimes, 
legally  proved,  and  which  might  have  imitators ;  but  Laud, 
four  years  a  prisoner,  aged,  infirm,  had  only  to  answer  for  his 
co-operation  in  a  tyranny,  now  four  years  since  put  an  end 


Whitelocke,  120. 


fib. 


$  Dec.  17,  by  100  to  93 


to.     As  m  the  trial  of  Strafford,  it  was  impossible  to  prove 

qI^V^'^T""  ^§T^l  ^'"^  ^y  ^^'''     '^^  condemn  him^  like 
Strafford,  by  a  bill  of  attainder,  the  king's  consent  was  neces- 

1^""^^  ^"^^ theological  hatred  is  as  subtle  as  implacable.     At 
the  head  of  the  prosecution  was  that  same  Prynne  whom  Laud 
had  formerly  caused  to  be  so  odiously  mutilated,  and  who  was 
now  eager  m  his  turn  to  humiliate  and  crush  his  enemy.     Af 
ter  a  long  trial,  in  which  the  archbishop  showed  more  talent 
and  prudence  than  might  have  been  expected,  a  simple  ordi-  / 
nance  of  parliament,  voted  by  seven  lords  only,  and  illegal 
even   according  to  the  traditions  of  parliamentary  tyranny! 
pronounced  his  condemnation.     He  died  with  pious  courage  / 
full  of  contempt  for  his  adversaries,  and  of  fear  for  the  future 
fate  of  the  king.*     The  other  trials  had  the  same  result ;  and 
m  SIX  weeks,  the  scaffold  was  erected  five  times  on  Tower- 
hill,t  oltener  than  had  occurred  since  the  commencement  of 
the  revolution.^     The  measures  of  general  government  were 
directed  in  the  same  spirit.     A  week  before  Laud's  execution 
(Jan   3),  the   liturgy  of  the  Anglican   church,  hitherto  tole- 
rated, was  definitively  abolished  ;  and  on  the  proposal  of  the 
assembly  of  divines,  a  book  entitled  "  Directions  for  Public 
Worship     received  in  its  stead  the  sanction  of  parliament.^ 
1  he  party  leaders  were  quite  aware  that  this  innovation  would 
meet  with  great  opposition,  and  cared  little  for  its  success  • 
but  to  retain  the  power  about  to  escape  them,  they  needed  all 
the  support  of  the  fanatical  presbyterians,  and  refused  them 
nothing.      The   independents,  on  their  side,  used  every  effort 
to  get  the  upper  house  to  adopt  the  decisive  ordinance  :  peti- 
tions recommenced,  some  of  them  even  threatening,  demand- 
mg  that  the  lords  and  commons  should  sit  together  in  one  as- 

nn*fd''r'''^'"^  to  the  Journals  of  the  House  of  Lords,  twenty  peers  sat 
onf  h!/^^r  "^^/^^  ^^"?  ^'"  condemned;  but  probably  several  went 
mil  r  f  \l'^°^^  was  taken  ;  for  it  is  shown,  by  unquestionable  docS- 
f!!i  'r^^^  ^^^  majority  who  condemned  him  consisted  only  of  the 
Pr.      f  w  ""J'  P^^broke,  Salisbury,  Bolingbroke,  and  the  lords  North. 

wir J  ""h  ^-^'J"; w  .^'f ".  ^^^"^"'•''  '^^^^^^'  "• '  287).  Lord  Bruce  Xr- 
wards  denied  that  he  had  voted. 

t  Sir  Alexander  Carew  was  executed  Dec.  23,  1644  ;  John  Hotham, 

n^r"r?f '  -^^^  ^'  ^^^^'  Sir  John  Hotham,  Jan.  2;  Laud,  Jan    10  • 
and  lord  Macguire,  Feb.  20.  >  ,  ^     u,  jdn.  lu , 

§  Neal,  Hist,  of  the  Puritans,  iii.,  127. 

24* 


I 


282 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


283 


i' 


sembly.*  A  solemn  fast  was  ordained  (Dec.  18),  in  order  to 
call  down,  upon  so  grave  a  deliberation,  some  light  from  the 
Lord  ;  the  two  houses  only  were  present  at  the  sermons 
preached  that  day  in  Westminster,  doubtless  to  leave  the 
preachers  a  fuller  career,  and  Vane  and  Cromwell  had  taken 
care  to  select  their  men.f  At  last,  after  repeated  messages 
and  conferences,  the  commons  went  in  a  body  to  the  upper 
house  to  demand  the  adoption  of  the  ordinance  (Jan.  13),:j: 
but  the  lords  had  taken  their  resolution,  and  on  the  very  day 
of  this  marked  step,  the  ordinance  was  rejected. 

The  victory  seemed  great  and  the  moment  propitious  for 
making  use  of  it.  The  negotiations  at  Uxbridge  were  draw- 
ing  near.  On  the  urgent  entreaties  of  the  fugitive  members 
who  had  obscurely  opened  at  Oxford  their  second  session, 
Charles  had  at  last  consented  (towards  the  end  of  December, 
1644)  to  give  the  name  of  parliament  to  the  houses  at  West- 
minster :  "  If  there  had  been  in  the  council,"  he  wrote  to  the 
queen,  "  but  two  persons  of  my  mind,  I  would  never  have 
given  way."§  He  had  at  the  same  time  named  his  commis- 
sioners,||  who  were  nearly  all  friends  of  peace  ;  and  among 
the  parliament  commissioners,ir  Vane,  St.  John,  and  Prideaux, 
alone  entertained  other  views.  On  the  29th  of  January  the 
negotiators  arrived  at  Uxbridge,  full  of  good  intentions  and 

hope. 

They  met  with  mutual  earnestness  and  courtesy.  They 
had  all  long  known  each  other  ;  many,  before  these  sad  dis- 

*  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  5 ;  Ling^ard,  Hist,  of  England,  x.,  282. 

t  Clarendon,  ii.,  845;  Whitelocke,  119. 

X  Pari.  Hist.,  iii  ,  333—337 ;  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  7  ;  Whitelocke,  123. 

§  Memoirs  of  Ludlow. 

II  The  duke  of  Richmond,  the  marquis  of  Hertford,  the  earls  of  South- 
ampton, Kingston,  and  Chichester;  the  lords  Capel,  Seymour,  Hatton, 
and  Colepepper  ;  the  secretary  of  state  Nicholas,  sir  Edward  Hyde,  sir 
Edward  Lane,  sir  Orlando  Bridgeman,  sir  Thomas  Gardiner,  Mr.  John 
Ashburton,  Mr.  Geoffrey  Palmer,  Dr.  Stewart,  and  their  suite,  in  all 
one  hundred  and  eight  persons. 

IT  The  earls  of  Northumberland,  Pembroke, Salisbury,  and  Denbigh  ; 
lord  Wenman,  Messrs.  Denzil  Holies,  William  Pierpoint,  Oliver  St. 
John,  Whitelocke,  John  Carew,  Edmund  Prideaux,  and  sir  Harry 
Vane,  for  the  English  parliament ;  the  earl  of  Lowden,  the  marquis  of 
Argyle,  the  lords  Maitland  and  Balmerino,  sir  Archibald  Johnston,  sir 
Charles  Erskine,  sir  John  Smith,  Messrs.  George  Dundas,  Hu^h  Ken- 
nedy, Robert  Berkley,  and  Alexander  Henderson,  for  the  Scottish  par- 
liament, with  their  suite  ;  in  all,  one  hundred  and  eight  persons. 


sensions,  had  been  united  by  ties  of  friendship.     On  the  very 
evening  of  their  arrival,  Hyde,  Colepepper,  Palmer,  White- 
locke, Holies,  Pierpoint,  exchanged  visits,  congratulating  each 
other  on  working  together  to  procure  peace  for  the  country. 
More  embarrassment  and  reserve,  however,  was  observable 
in  the  commissioners   from  Westminster,  who  bore  the  yoke 
of  rougher  and  more  mistrustful  masters.     The  negotiations 
were  to  last  twenty  days  ;  the  subjects  for  special  considera- 
tion  were   religion,  the  militia,  and  Ireland.     It  was  agreed 
.  that  each  of  these  questions  should   be  discussed  for  three 
days,  taken  as  might  be  arranged,  consecutively  or  alternately. 
So  long  as  these  preliminaries  were  the  only  business  in  hand, 
everything  went  on   very  smoothly ;  there  was  entire  confi! 
dence  on  both  sides,  perfect  politeness.     But  when,  at  length 
the  real  discussion  began  (Jan.  30),  around  the  table  at  which 
the  negotiators  were  seated,  all  the  difficulties  reappeared. 
Each  of  the  parliamentary  factions  had  its  fundamental  point 
of  which  it  would  not  bate  a  jot ;  the  presbyterians,  the  pri! 
vileged   establishment  of  their  church  ;  the   politicians,   the 
command  of  the  militia  ;  the  independents,   liberty  of  con- 
science  ;  and  the  king,  obliged  to  concede  to  all,  only  obtained 
from  each  such  sacrifices  as  the  others  absolutely  refused. 
Each  party,  moreover,  kept  constantly  in  view  the  question 
whether,  peace  being  concluded,  power  would  be  in  its  hands, 
for  neither  would  treat  except  on  this  condition.     The  subject 
of  religion  being  taken  first,  the  discussion  soon  assumed  the 
character  of  a  theological  controversy ;  they  argued,  instead 
of  negotiating  ;  they  were  more  anxious  to  make  out  a  case 
than  to  make  peace.     By  degrees,  acrimony  pervaded  the  in- 
tercourse  late  so  amicable  ;  it  even  made  its  way  into  those 
private  conversations  in  which  some  of  the  negotiators  at  times 
sought  to  remove  the  obstacles  which  impeded  their  public 
discussions.     Among  the  commissioners  from  Oxford,  Hyde, 
more  especially,  was  courted  by  those  of  Westminster,  who 
knew  him  to  be  a  man  of  superior  judgment,  and  in  great 
credit  with  the  king.     Lord  Lowden,  chancellor  of  Scotland, 
and  the  earls  of  Pembroke  and  Denbigh,  had  long  and  frank 
interviews  with  him  on  the  dangers  of  the  future,  on  the  sinis- 
ter  designs  which  were  fermenting  in  parliament,  on  the  neces- 
sity that  the  king  should  give  up  a  great  deal  to  save  the  whole. 
Hyde  readily  entered  into  these  communications  ;  but  the  suf  , 


/ 


1 


284 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


285 


M 


ceptibility  of  his  self-love,  the  unbending  haughtiness  of  his 
intellect,  his  dry  and  sarcastic  tone,  his  scornful  honesty,  nearly 
always  offended  and  repelled  those  who  sought  his  society. 
The  least  incident  revealed  all  these  perplexities,  all  the  tu- 
tility  of  the  peaceful  wishes  of  the  negotiators.     On  a  market 
day,  in  the  church  of  Uxbridge,  a  man  of  the  name  of  Love, 
a  fanatic  preacher  from  London,  inveighed,  in  the  presence  of 
a  large  congregation,  against  the  royalists  and  the  treaty,  with 
the  most  outrageous  virulence.     "  No  good  can  come  of  it, 
said  he  ;  ''  those  people  are  here  from  Oxford  with  hearts  lull 
of  blood  ;  they  only  want  to  amuse  the  people  till  they  can  do 
them  some  notable  injury  ;  this  treaty  is  as  far  from  peace  as 
heaven  from  hell."     The  king's  commissioners  required  that 
the  man  should  be  punished  for  his  insolence,  but  the  parlia- 
mentarians  dared  do  no  more  than  send  him  from  Uxbridge. 
Unfavorable  reports  circulated  as  to  the  king's  real  intentions; 
it  was  said  that  though  he  had  yielded  so  far  to  the  wishes  of 
his  council  he  had  no  wish  for  peace,  had  promised  the  queen 
to  conclude  nothing  without  her  consent,  and  was  far  more 
intent  upon  fomenting  the  internal  dissensions  of  parliament, 
than  on  coming  to  a  genuine  understanding  with  it.     He  was 
even  suspected  of  being  secretly  in  treaty  with  the  papists  ot 
Ireland  to  raise  an  army  among  them ;  and  the  most  solemn 
protestations  of  his  commissioners  did  not  succeed  m  dispel- 
ling  the  distrust  of  the  city  on  this  subject. 

Meanwhile  the  assigned  period  for  terminating  the  negoti- 
ations approached,  and  the  parliament  showed  very  little  in- 
clination  to  prolong  them.  Desperate  at  seeing  the  negotia- 
tors about  to  separate  without  result,  the  friends  of  peace, 
towards  the  middle  of  February,  concerted  a  final  effort.  It 
seemed  to  them  that  some  concession  on  the  part  of  the  king 
with  reference  to  the  militia,  the  offer,  for  instance,  of  giving 
up  the  command  of  it  for  some  years  to  leaders,  half  of  whom 
should  be  named  by  parliament,  would  not  be  without  its 
effect.  Lord  Southampton  proceeded  in  all  haste  to  Oxford 
to  obtain  this  concession  from  the  king.  Charles  at  first  re- 
fused ;  the  earl  entreated  ;  other  noblemen  joined  him,  on 
their  knees,  in  supplicating  the  king,  for  the  sake  of  his  crown 
and  his  people,  not  to  reject  this  chance  of  favorable  negotia- 

•  Clarendon,  ii.,  267;  Rushworth,  ii ,  3,  S48  ;  Whitelocke,  127. 


tion.     Charles  at  last  yielded  ;  and  the  desire  for  peace  was 
so  fervent  in  the  minds  of  his  councillors,  that  in  their  joy  at 
this  success,   all   difficulties   seemed  well  nigh  at  an  end. 
Fairfax  and  Cromwell  were  among  those  to  whom  the  king 
was  himself  to  propose  that  the  command  of  the  militia  should 
be  entrusted.     At  supper,  gaiety  reigned  round  the  royal  ta- 
„     ?  ^^^S  complained  that  his  wine  was  not  good ;  "  I 
hope,"  said  one  of  the  company,  laughingly,  «  that,  in  a'  few 
days,  your  majesty  will   drink  better  at  Guildhall  with  the 
lord  mayor."     Next  morning,  lord   Southampton,   about   to 
return  to  Uxbridge,  waited  on  the  king  to  receive,  in  writing, 
the  instructions  agreed  upon ;  but  to  his  extreme  astonish' 
ment,  Charles  withdrew  his  promise,  and  definitively  refused 
the  concession.* 

A  letter  from  Montrose,  received  during  the  night  from  the 
other  end  of  Scotland,  with  a  rapidity  almost  unexampled,  had 
induced  this  sudden  change.     A  fortnight  before,  at  Inver- 
lochy,  in  Argyleshire,  Montrose  had  gained  a  brilliant  victory 
over  the  Scottish  troop  commanded  by  Argyle  himself  (Feb. 
2).t     After  giving  an  account  of  it  to  the  king,  he  went  on  to 
express-  his  utter  aversion  to  all  treaties  with  the  rebel  parlia. 
ment  in  England.     "  Greatly,"  he  wrote—"  greatly  as  the 
success  of  your  majesty's  arms  in  Scotland  had  exhilarated 
my  heart,  this  news  from  England  has  more  than  counterba- 
lanced that  joy.     The  last  time  I  had  the  honor  of  seeing 
your  majesty,  I  fully  explained  to  you  what  I  know  so  well  to 
be  the  designs  of  your  rebellious  subjects  in  both  kingdoms ; 
and  your  majesty  may,  perhaps,  remember  how  much  you 
were  then  convinced  that  I  was  in  the  right.     I  am  sure  that 
since  then  nothing   could    have   happened  which  can  have 
changed  your  majesty's  opinion  on  the  subject.     The  more 
you  grant,  the  more  will  be  demanded  of  you  ;  and  I  have 
but  too  many  reasons  to  be  certain  that  they  will  not  be  con- 
tent till   they  have  rendered  your  majesty  a  mere  king  of 
straw.     Pardon  me,  then,  august  and  eacred  sovereign,  if  I 
venture  to  say  that,  in  my  humble  opinion,  it  is  unworthy  of 
a  king  to  treat  with  rebel  subjects  while  they  retain  the  sword 
in  hand.     God  forbid  that  I  should  seek  to  repress  the  mercy 

T  r  ^^^11?^°°^'^  Memoirs  (1718),  62  ;  Banks,  A  Critical  Review  of  the 
Lile  of  Oliver  Cromwell  (1769),  108. 
t  Whitelocke,  133. 


286 


HISTORY   OP   THE 


of  your  majesty !  but  I  shudder  with  horror  when  I  think  of  a 
treaty  being  in  hand  while  your  majesty  and  those  people  are 
tZ  fieldf  with  two  armies.     Permit  me,  ^n  ^11  hum>hty^   o 
assure  your  majesty  that,  with  the  blessmg  of  God,  1  am  m 
t1^  ri.ht  way  d  make  this  kingdom  submit  agam  to  your 
pTwer":  and  if  the  measures  I  have  concerted  with  your  other 
feithfu    subjects  do  not  fail,  which  is  hardly  to  be  supposed, 
before  the  end  of  this  summer,  I  shall  be  m  a  position  to  come 
to  the  assistance  of  your  majesty,  with  a  gallant  army  ;  and^ 
sustained  by  the  justice  of  your  cause,  you  will  inflict  on  these 
rebels  in  England  and  in  Scotland,  the  ust  chastisement  of 
thefr  ^ebelUon^     When  I  have  submitted  this  kingdom  to  your 
power,  and  have  conquered  from  Dan  to  Beer-sheba,  as  I 
Tubt  not  I  shall  very  quickly,  I  hope  I  may  have  then  to  say, 
^David's  general  said  to  his  master :  '  Come  thou,  ktths 
Zlury  te  M  by  my  name  ;^  for  in  al    -X  ;^™.I  J-e 
nothing  in  view  but  the  glory  and  interest  of  your  majesty. 
This  litter  had  restored  to  the  king  his  utmost  hopes  ;  though 
^ssconfident,  lord  Southampton  did  not  insist  ;-dhe  brought 
the  refusal  to  Uxbridge,  without  explaining  the  cause  ot  it. 
The  crferenoes  were°broken  off,  and  the  presbyterian  chiefs 
returned  to  Westminster,  almost  broken-hearted  a^^a  discom- 
fiture, which  threw  them  back  once  more  into  all  the  dangers 

°'  KeSSncl  that  situation  had  grown  still  more  perilous. 
Compelled  to  abandon,  for  awhile  at  least,  the  self-denying 
ordinance,  the  independents  had  directed  their  -^-^t  ankm 
efforts  to  the  measure  which  was  to  accompany  >  Yl"?  ^^^^g^"'" 
zation  of  the  army.  In  a  few  days,  everything  had  been  pre- 
Tared  concerted.'lettled  ;  the  plan,  the  form,  the  expe-e  the 
mean;  of  providing  for  it.$  Only  one  army  was  f"'  the  future 
to  be  kept  on  foot,  composed  of  twenty-one  thousand  men,  and 
commanded  by  one  general,  who  was  even  to  be  invested  with 
the  rTght  of  nlminglu  the  officers,  subject  to  the  approba  ion 
of  parliament.  This  general  was  Fairfax.  For  a  long  Ume 
Da«t  his  distinguished  valor,  the  frankness  of  his  character, 
fh^  suLt  of^iis  expeditions,  the  warlike  enthu^asm  with 
which  his  presence  inspired  the  troops,  had  fixed  public  atten- 

I^LfnTw^'^myTas  to  cost  56.135/.  a  mouth^'Io  1*:^  \n''nine. 
teen  counties  ;  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  8—13. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


287 


tion  upon  him  ;  and  Cromwell  had  answered,  publicly  in  the 
house,  privately  to  his  party,  for  the  fitness  of  this  choice. 
Essex  retained  his  rank.  Waller  and  Manchester  their  com- 
missions, but  without  even  a  shadow  of  power.  On  the  28th 
of  January,  the  ordinance  which  was  to  regulate  the  execu- 
tion of  this  measure  was  sent  to  the  lords.  They  endeavored 
at  least  to  retard  its  adoption,  by  proposing  various  amend- 
ments, and  protracting  the  debate  on  each.  But  in  this  in- 
stance resistance  was  difficult,  for  the  ordinance  had  the  sanc- 
tion of  the  people,  who  were  convinced  that  the  multiplicity 
of  armies  and  their  chiefs  was  the  true  cause  of  the  prolonga- 
tion and  inefficacy  of  the  war.  Strong  in  this  support,  the 
commons  urged  the  measure  forward  ;  the  lords  at  last  yielded 
(Feb.  15)  ;  and  on  the  19th  of  February,  two  days  before  the 
rupture  of  the  negotiations  at  Uxbridge,  Fairfax,  introduced 
into  the  house,  received  with  a  simple  and  modest  air,  stand- 
ing by  the  chair  which  had  been  prepared  for  him,  the  official 
compliments  of  the  speaker.* 

On  their  return  to  Westminster,  the  presbyterian  leaders 
endeavored  to   redeem  this  defeat.     The  upper  house  com- 
plained  bitterly  of  the  injurious  and  even  threatening  language 
which  had  been  lately  used  in  reference  to  them,  and  of  the 
report  everywhere  in  circulation  that  the  commons  meditated 
the  abolition  of  the  peerage.     The  commons  answered   by  a 
solemn  declaration  of  their  profound  respect  for  the  rights  of 
the  lords  and  their  firm  resolution  to  uphold  them  (March  24).f 
The  Scottish  commissioners  addressed  to  both  houses  (March 
3),  in  the  name  of  the  covenant,  a  remonstrance  at  once  sharp 
and  timid.:):    The  commons,  without  noticing  it,  transmitted  to 
the  lords  another  ordinance,  still  further  enlarging  Fairfax's 
powers,  and  striking  out  from  his  commission  the  injunction 
hitherto  repeated  in  all  similar  documents,  "  to  watch  over  the 
safety  of  the  king's  person."     The  lords  voted  that  it  should 
be  restored  ;  the  commons  refused  (March  29):  <'this  phrase," 
they  said,  "  would  dishearten  their  soldiers,  and  encourage  the 
king  to  adventure  his  person  to  come  at  the  head  of  his  army 
into  any  danger."     The  lords  insisted,  and  in  three  successive 
debates,  notwithstanding  the  active  efforts  of  the  commons,  the 

•Wbitelocke,   131;    Pari.    Hist.,  iii.,  340;   Rushworth,  i.,   3,  7; 
Holies,  34.  >    »     »      > 

t  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  348.  %  lb.,  346. 


288 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


votes  were  equally  divided  in  the  upper  house  on  this  ques- 
tion  *     Everything  remained  in  suspense :  the  commons  de- 
clared that,  for  their  part,  having  now  done  everything  in  their 
power    if  the  delay  caused  any  misfortune,  the  lords  alone 
must  answer  for  it  to  the  country  (March  3l).t     The  latter 
beean  to  grow  weary  of  a  resistance  of  which  they  foresaw 
not  only  the  futility,  but  the  approaching  end.   While  this  was 
going  on,  the  marquis  of  Argyle  arrived   from  Scotland  :  a 
Presbyterian  in  religion,  he  inclined  in  politics  to  the  bolder 
class  of  thinkers;   and  the  independents.  Vane  and  Cromwell 
in  particular,  soon  contracted  an  intimacy  with  him.    Argyle, 
besides,  had  recent  injuries  to  avenge :  a  man  of  supple  and 
profound  intellect,  with  great  activity  of  mind,  but  firmier  in 
the  council  than  in  the  field,  he  had  gone  no  nearer  the  battle, 
in  which  the  Scots  were  defeated  at  Inverlochy  by  Montrose, 
than  the  middle  of  the  lake,  and  had  taken  to  flight  the  instant 
he  saw  his  soldiers  disperse-^    From  that  day,  both  m  England 
and  in  Scotland,  the  cavaliers  never  mentioned  his  nanrie  with- 
out  insult,  and  their  complete  fall  could  alone  satisfy  his  yen- 
geance.     He  employed  his  influence  to  dissuade  the  Scottish 
commissioners  and  some  of  the  presbyterian  leaders  from  tur- 
ther  opposition,  not  only  to  the  reorganization  of  the  army,  but 
to  the  self-denying  ordinance  itself;  an  opposition,  he  said, 
from  which  everything  suffered,  and  which  sooner  or  later  the 
necessity  of  the  case  must  inevitably  overcome.§     Essex  saw 
the  resolution  of  his  friends  daily  more  and  more  wavering. 
Determined  to  anticipate  their  weakness,  he  announced  that  he 
would  resign  his  commission  ;  and  on  the  1st  of  April,  rising 
in  his  place  in  the  upper  house,  with  a  paper  in  his  hand,  to 
which  he  constantly  referred,  for  he  was  altogether  unskilled 
in  the  art  of  speaking,  he  said  :  "  My  lords,  having  received 
this  great  charge  in  obedience  to  the  commands  of  both  houses, 
and  taken  their  sword  into  my  hand,  I  can  with  confidence  say 
that  I  have  for  these  now  almost  three  years,  faithfully  servea 
you,  and  1  hope,  without  loss  of  honor  to  myself  or  prejudice  to 
the  public.     I  see,  by  the  now  coming  up  of  these  ordinances, 
that  it  is  the  desire  of  the  house  of  commons  that  my  commis- 
sion may  be  vacated  ;  and  it  hath  been  no  particular  respect  to 

♦Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  350.  t  lb-. 

X  Malcolm  Laing,  Hist,  of  Scotland,  &c.,  ui.,  294. 

§  Clarendon,  ii.,  910. 


289 

myself  (whatever  is  whispered  to  the  contrary^  that  h.th       a 

me  thus  long  omit  to  declare  my  readiness  Seto  it  K        ^^^ 

unknown  to  divers  men  of  honor  tha    I  Lh  .      i  '^^^.^^gnot 

the  action  of  Gloucester  huithZ  •         resolved  it  after 

on  me  with  argu" ^^^  (pressed 

of  unquestionable  aTctl  ttrtd^^^^^^^^  ^- 

It,  and  return  my  commission  into  thoseTands  [hat*  JpT  ^" 

wishing  It  may  prove  as  good  an  exvedlTtflT  ^         ^  ""^ ' 

tempers  as  some  will  hav!  it  beHeved      T  th    I  •  P'"'""^  ^^^- 

dest,  that  I  entreat  both  houses  thTil'     J    ""^  i^  "°^  ^'""^«- 

are  now  laid  by   m^^ht  hav'    H     ^^^.^^^  ^^^ers  of  mine  which 

considerable  part  Tflhdr  arrears!  H^K^^'^'f  ""^^^^^'  '^^^ 

and  the  remLder  ^^clTtll^^^^^^ 

lords,  I  know  that  jealousies  cannot  bJavLpH      ./    ^V   ^^^ 

condition  of  our  prLent  affairs,  yef  wisdom  ^^^^^^ 

put  such  restraint  thereto  is  nnt  t!!    .,^  ^^^  chanty  should 

tive.     I  hope  thlt  th  s  adWce^^^^^^ 

wishing  myself  and  friends  mL^  .u  ''^^  unseasonable, 

benefit  thereof;  this  pToceed W  W      "^  ""'^i'"'  Participate  the 

liament,  the  pCerh"  X^^^^^^ 

heart,  what  return  soe^ver  it  brW  1  if    f  l""'"^  ^'"'^  "^^ 

example  hi  that  kind  of  that  CCf^lt L'^^^^^^^ 

adopted  the  ordin.Sce   o    the   eort'Ltt'T^^^^    '^''  ^^^^ 
out  amendment  (April  3)     >  t  thpT.  °1^^^  ^''">^'  ^^^h- 

bigh  and   MancUer  also  i^^^^^ 

house  voted  them,  for  thTpa^ri^tiP  ..  ff  ^^^^gnf  on.  The 
mises,  which  the  commot  Civ  ^^^^^^^^^  ^^'^  ^^^  P^- 
a  self-denying  ordinance,  someteS  from  Z  fi"'  .'k^' 

*Parl.  Hist.,  iii.,  352. 
pil^en^-HSt;^1l?!^55'"  '''  "^^^^^^^^  -^-^^ce,  in  the 


25 


\\ 


« 


i 


290 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


BOOK  THE  SIXTH. 
1645—1646. 

Formation  of  the  army  of  the  independents-Cromwell  retains  his 
rZmand-Campaign  of  1645-Alarms  of  parliament-Battle  of 
Sy-TheTSament  seizes  and  publishes  the  king's  private  cor- 
respondence-^Decline  of  the  royalist  party  in  the  west-Flight  and 
Inxiet?  of  the  king-Montrose's  victory  in  Scotland-The  king 
aUem^ts  to  join  himfbut  without  success-Defeat  of  Montrose-The 
SnsTstay  a\  Newa/k^^  returns  to  Oxford  and  seeks  to  renew  nc- 
gSions^with  the  parliament-The  parliament  rejects  the  overture 
— New  elections-The  king  treats  with  the  insurgent  Irish-The 
tre^t7discotred-Defeatof  the  last  royalist  troops-The  king  es- 
capes  from  Oxford  and  seeks  refuge  in  the  Scottish  camp. 

No  sooner  had  Essex  and  Manchester  given  in  their  resigna- 
tion, than  Fairfax  quitted  London  (April  3),  and  fixing  his 
head-quarters  at  Windsor,  set  himself  assiduously  to  work  to 
form,  out  of  their  two  armies,  the  new  force  he  was  to  com- 
mand.  It  had  been  predicted  that  this  process  would  meet 
with  violent  resistance  ;  and  Cromwell,  to  whom  as  well  as  to 
Essex  and  Manchester,  the  self-denying  ordmance  extended, 
had  repelled  all  such  fears,  protesting,  that  as  far  as  he  was 
concerned,  "  his  soldiers  had  been  taught  to  march  or  remain, 
to  fiffht  or  to  lay  down  their  arms,  according  to  the  commands 
of  parliament."  Some  seditions,  however,  broke  out  particu- 
larly  at  Reading,  where  there  were  five  regiments  of  Essex  s 
infantry,  and  in  Hertfordshire,  where  eight  squadrons  of  his 
cavalry  were  quartered,  under  the  command  of  colonel  Ual- 
bier.  The  presence  of  Skippon,  who  had  been  named  major- 
general  of  the  new  army,  and  his  rough  but  effective  eloquence 
Sufficed  to  appease  the  regiments  at  Reading  (April  6).  i  hose 
of  Dalbier  were  not  so  readily  tranquillized ;  it  was  even  re- 
ported in  London  that  they  were  about  to  join  the  king  at  Ux- 
ford  •  and  St.  John,  ever  violent  and  disposed  to  seventy ,  wrote 
to  the  leaders  in  Hertfordshire,  to  fall  suddenly,  and  sword  m 
hand,  on  the  factious.  But  through  the  influence  of  some  ot 
the  cashiered  officers  and  of  Essex  himself,  Dalbier  at  last 
submitted,  and  proceeded  to  head-quarters.     In  truth,  the  dis- 


ENGLISH  REVOLUTION. 


291 


content  among  the  soldiers  was  of  no  verv  mnrt.^    u 

should  be  sold  to  satisfy  t^^^^  "^  '"^^  f'^^  delinquents 

weirs  soldiers  also  muHn  .H  f  K^'^'^'P  demands.  Crom- 
thecontrarrdectrir  h."  '  "°  J^^^standing  his  guarantee  to 
and  CroS  alone^h«7r"^'^  '"'^"  T"^^'  ""^  °^^^^  ^^^^er ; 
them  return  to  their  dutt  T  th  T"^-^  ""''  ^^^^  '^  "^^^^ 
subordination   he  set  off^t:.  r    V  '  ^'f  ^'^^^'"^tion  of  their  in- 

to  parliamem'  before  he  ou  tted  his"  ""'  '^'^  "^'^'^  ^^^^^^ 
20th  of  Anr.i  *k  1     *1""^^^  his  command.     Towards  thp 

^Uth  of  April,  the  work  was  almost  accomplished  •  «]]  thf.. 
corps  were  or^ani^pf]  witK.^.,*  a- ax     ,'^'^""\P"^nea  ,  all  the  new 
excitement  waTpToleed  bv  fh   ^""^j  '"London  alone,  the 
who  all  flocked  fhhh T elthtr  to  ZZtf  "^'^''""^  °^''^^ 

-he  brilliant  ners^STotland  cS;  Th  ."f^'^standing 
.0  give  t  'ti  SSSr':  ctTt^TbHS^f  ""'' 
L  tiVhlr  '""""^  '^r'^'^  '*'"'  ^y  ■"««"«  °f  lord  Diby 
•  Holies,  Memoirs,  31,  et passim;  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  17. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


292 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


293 


aeain.*  But  a  month  after,  when  it  was  known  at  Oxford 
what  obstacles  impeded  the  reorganization  of  the  parhamentary 
army  when  the  regiments  were  seen  in  insurrection,  and  the 
most  illustrious  officers  put  aside,  confidence  and  gaiety  reap- 
peared  among  the  cavaliers.  Soon  they  only  spoke  with  de- 
rision  of  this  mob  of  peasants  and  preaching  mechanics,  idiots 
enough  to  drive  from  them  generals  whose  names  and  ability 
had  constituted  their  sole  strength,  and  to  raise  to  the  conimand 
officers  as  obscure,  as  utter  novices  as  their  soldiers,  bongs 
iests,  puns,  were  daily  sent  forth  against  the  parliament  and 
its  defenders ;  and  the  king,  in  spite  of  his  grave  tempera- 
ment, allowed  himself  to  be  persuaded  by  these  convenient 
arguments.  He  had,  besides,  secret  hopes,  arising  from  in- 
tri|ues   of  which   even   his   most   intimate   confidants  were 

'^  Towards  the  end  of  April,  Fairfax  announced  that  in  a  few 
days  he  should  open  the  campaign.  Cromwell  went  to  vVmd- 
sor,  to  kiss,  as  he  said,  the  general's  hand,  and  take  him  his 
resignation.  On  seeing  him  enter  the  room,  Fairfax  said, 
"  I  have  just  received  from  the  committee  of  the  two  kingdoms 
an  order  which  has  reference  to  you  ;  it  directs  you  to  proceed 
directly  with  some  horse,  to  the  road  between  Oxford  and  Wor- 
cester,  to  intercept  communications  between  prince  Rupert  and 
the  king  "t  The  same  evening  Cromwell  departed  on  his  mis. 
sion,  and  in  five  days,  before  any  other  corps  of  the  new  army 
had  put  itself  in  motion,  he  had  beaten  the  royalists  in  three 
encounters  (April  24,  at  Islip-bridge  ;  26,  at  Witney  ;  27  at 
Bampton  Bush),  taken  Bletchington  (Apnl  24),  and  sent  to 
the  house  a  full"  report  of  his  success.^  -  Who  will  bring  me 
this  Cromwell,  dead  or  alive !  "§  cried  the  king;  while  in 
London  all  were  rejoicing  that  he  had  not  yet  given  in  his 

resignation.  ^   ,  _         . .    j    i«  „j,r 

A  week  had  scarcely  passed,  and  the  parliament  had  already 
made  up  its  mind  that  he  should  not  resign.  The  campaign 
had  commenced  (April  30).  The  king,  quitting  Oxford  (May 
7),  had  rejoined  prince  Rupert,  and  was  proceeding  towards 
the  north,  either  to  raise  the  siege  of  Chester,  or  to  give  battle 

*  Clarendon,  Mem.,  i.,  230.  .     ^     t,     u        ^u   :    a  o'i 

t  Sprigg,  Anglia  Rediviva  (London,  1647),  10  ;  Rushworth.  i.,  4,  23. 
1  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  359  ;  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  24. 
&  Bank's  Critical  Review,  &c.,  23. 


o  the  Scottish  army,  and  regain  on  that  side  his  former  advan- 
tages ;  if  he  succeeded,  he  would  be  in  a  position  to  threaten, 
as  he  pleased,  the  east  or  the  south  ;  and  Fairfax,  then  on  his 
way  to  the  west,  to  deliver  the  important  town  of  Taunton 
closely  invested  by  the  prince  of  Wales,  could  not  oppose  his 
progress       Fairfax  was  recalled   (May  5) ;    but,  meantime, 
Cromwell  alone  was  in  a  condition  to  watch  the  king's  move- 
ments.     Notwithstanding  the  ordinance,  he  received  orders  to 
continue   his   service   forty  days  (May   10.)*     Sir  William 
Brereton,  sir  Thomas  Middleton,  and  sir  John  Price,  distin- 
guished officers,  and  members  of  the  commons,  received  simi- 
iar  orders,t   either  from  similar  motives,  or  that  Cromwell 
might  not  seem  the  only  exception. 

Fairfax  hastened  his  return ;  the  king  had  continued  his 
march  towards  the  north ;  in  London,  without  its  being  alto- 
gether  known  why,  the  alarm  was  somewhat  appeased  •  no 
royalist  army  any  longer  covered  Oxford,  the  focus  of  war  in 
the  centre  of  the  kingdom ;  the  parliament  believed  it  had  as- 
sured  friends  in  the  place ;  Fairfax  received  orders  to  invest 
11  ^  May  1 ,  )4  If  ho  took  it,  it  would  be  an  immense  success  • 
It  the  siege  was  prolonged,  he  could  proceed  thence  without 
obstacle,  to  any  point  which  the  king  might  threaten.  Crom- 
well  joined  him  before  Oxford. 

They   had   scarcely  met  when   alarm  once  more  spread 
throughout  London,  more  intense  than  ever.     Every  day  un 
fcivorable  news  came  from  the  north  ;  the  Scottish  army,  instead 
of  marching  to  meet  the  king  and  give  him  battle,  had  fallen 
back  towards  the  border ;  from  necessity,  according  to  some, 
in  order  to  be  in  a  position  to  oppose  the  growing  progress  of 
Montrose  in  that  kingdom  ;  from  ill  humor,  according  to  others 
because  parliament  had  refused  to  submit  to  the  yoke  of  pres' 
bytenans  and  strangers.^     However  this  may  have  been,  fa- 
vored by  their  retreat,  the  king  had  only  to  approach  the  walls 
ot  Chester  to  raise  the  siege  ;  and,  easy  as  to  this  place,  his 
medium  of  communication  with  Ireland,  he  directed  his  march 
towards  the  confederate  counties  of  the  east,  hitherto  the  bul- 
wark of  parliament.     At  all  hazards,  it  was  essential  to  secure 


145. 


*  Pari  Hist.,  iii.,  3G1 ;  Whitelocke,  i^o.  t  Whitelocke,  146. 

iii!I6\^TofrnarsfLr''  '''''  ^'^^'"^^^^^  '-  ^'  ^^ '  ^-^- «-*- 
§  Old  Pari.  Hist,  xiii.,  474—488. 

25* 


,  •*■ 


294 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


295 


them  from  this  invasion.     No  one  could  effect  this  object  so 
well  as  Cromwell,  for  in  that  quarter,  more  especially,  his  m- 
fluence  prevailed ;  there  had  commenced  his  military  levies, 
his  military  triumphs.     He  received  orders  to  move  directly 
upon  Cambridge,   and  take  in  hand  the  defence  of  the  con- 
federation.* 1        A  1 
A  more  pressing  danger  soon  occasioned  his  recal.     A  week 
after  his  departure  came  the  news  that  the  king  had  taken  the 
rich  town  of  Leicester  by  storm  (June  1,  1645),  and  that,  in 
the  west,  Taunton,  of  late  relieved  by  a  detachment  of  Fair- 
fax's  army,  was  again  closely  besieged.f     Utter  consternation 
prevailed;  the  presbyterians  triumphed  :  *' There,"  said  they, 
"  is  the  fruit  of  your  boasted  re-organization  !  since  it  has  been 
effected,  what  has  been  seen  ?     Vague  speculation  and  defeats. 
The  king  takes  one  of  our  best  places  in  a  day,  while  your 
general  remains  motionless  before  Oxford,  doubtless  waiting 
for  the  women  of  the  court  to  get  frightened,  and  open  the 
gates  to  him.ij:     The  only  answer  to  this  was  a  petition  from 
the  common  council,  presented  to  the  upper  house,§  on  the  5th 
of  June,  in  which  all  the  mischief  was  attributed  to  the  inac- 
tivity  of  the  Scots,  to  the  delays  which  still  impeded  the  recruit- 
ing of  the  army,  to  the  pretension  kept  up  by  parliament  to 
regulate  at  a  distance  the  operations  of  the  war ;  the  petitioners 
demanded  that  more  discretion  should  be  given  to  the  general, 
a  more  decisive  intimation  to  the  Scots,  to  Cromwell  his  former 
command.     At  the  same  time,  Fairfax  received  orders  (June 
5)  to  leave  the  siege  of  Oxford,  to  go  in  search  of  the  king, 
and  fight  at  any  rate.     Before  he  set  out  he  sent  to  parliament 
an  application,  signed   by  himself  and  sixteen  colonels,  for 
Cromwell  to  join  him,  an  officer,  he  said,  indispensably  needed 
to  command  the  cavalry.||     The  lords  deferred  their  answer, 
but  the  authorization  of  the  commons  was  prompt,  and  accepted 
as  sufficient.     Fairfax  immediately  sent  word  to  Cromwell 
(June  11)  ;1f  all  the  regiments  hastened  their  march  ;  and  on 
the  12th  of  June,  a  little  to  the  west  of  Northampton,  some  of 
the  parliamentary  cavalry,  sent  to  reconnoitre,  unexpectedly 
came  upon  a  detachment  of  the  king's  army. 

•  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  35  ;  May,  A  Breviary  of  the  History  of  the  Par- 
liament (1655),  126 ;  Holies,  35.  c  T.    1   u- ♦    ••;    if^'h 
t  Whitelocke,  149.     t  Clarendon,  ii.,  980.     §  Pari  Hist,  iii..  36o. 
II  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  368.                              ^  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  39. 


He  was  far  from  expecting  their  approach ;  informed  of 
the  blockade  of  Oxford,  and  yielding  to  the  fears  of  the  be- 
sieged court,  who  entreated  him  to  return,*  he  had  given  up 
his  expedition   into  the  northern   and  eastern  counties,  and 
marched  to  relieve  his  head-quarters.      But  his  confidence 
was  not  shaken ;  on  the  contrary,  another  victory  by  Mon- 
trose had  just  still  more  highly  elated  his  spirits.f     "  Never, 
since  the  beginning  of  the  rebellion,"   he  wrote  to  the  queen| 
"  have  my  afiairs  been  in  so  good  a  position"  (June  9)4     He 
accordingly  continued  his  march  leisurely,  stopping  in  such 
places  as  pleased  his  eye,  spending  whole  days  in  hunting,  and 
permitting  to  his  cavaliers,  who  were  still    more  confident 
than  he,  as  much  liberty  as  himself.^     On  the  first  intimation 
of  the  near  approach  of  the  parliamentary  army,  he  fell  back 
towards  Leicester,  to  rally  his  troops,  and  await  those  which 
were  to  reach  him  shortly  from  Wales  or  from  the  western 
counties.      The  next  day  (June  13),  at  supper  time,  his  con- 
fidence was  still  unimpaired,  and  he  had  no  thought  of  giving 
battle.  II      But  he  was  informed  that  some  of  the  parliamenta- 
rian squadrons  were  harassing  his  rear-guard.     Cromwell  had 
been  with  the   army  for  several  hours.lT      A  council  of  war 
was  immediately  called ;  and  towards  midnight,  notwithstand- 
ing the  opposition  of  several  officers,  who  entreated  that  the 
reinforcements  should  be  waited  for,  prince  Rupert  caused  it 
to  be  decided  that  they  should  instantly  turn  and  advance  upon 
the  enemy. 

The  meeting  took  place  the  next  morning  (June  14),  at 
Naseby,  to  the  north-west  of  Northampton.  At  dawn  of  day 
the  king's  army  formed  on  a  slight  eminence,  in  an  advanta- 
geous position.  The  scouts,  sent  to  reconnoitre  the  parlia- 
mentary army,  returned  in  two  hours,  and  reported  that  they 
saw  nothing  of  it.  Rupert,  losing  patience,  went  himself  on 
the  look-out,  with  a  few  squadrons ;  it  was  agreed  that  the 
army  should  remain  stationary  till  he  returned.  He  had 
scarcely  gone  a  mile  and  a  half  before  the  advanced  guard 

*  Memoirs  of  James  H. 

t  Gained  at  Auldearn,  in  the  county  of  Nairn,  in  the  north  of  Scot- 
land, the  4th  of  May,  1645. 

t  Ludlow,  Mem.  §  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  40  ;  Clarendon,  ii.,  985. 

II  l.velyn.  Memoirs,  ii.,  App.  97,  in  a  letter  from  the  king  to  the 
secretary  of  state,  Nicholas,  dated  the  13th  of  June. 
If  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  41 ;  May,  Breviary,  127. 


296 


HISTORY    OF    THB 


of  the  enemy  appeared,  in  full  march  towards  the  cavaliers. 
In  his  excitement,  the  prince  imagined  they  were  retreatmg, 
and  pushed  on,  sending  word  to  the  king  to  come  and  join 
him  with   all  speed,  lest  the  enemy  should  escape.     Towards 
ten  o'clock  the  royalist  army  came  up,  somewhat  disordered 
by  the  precipitation  of  their  advance ;    and   Rupert,  at  the 
head  of  the  right  wing  of  the  cavalry,  immediately  dashed 
down  upon  the  left  wing  of  the  parliamentarians,  commanded 
by  Ireton,  who  soon  after  became  Cromwell's  son-in-law  (Jan. 
15   1647).     Nearly  at  the  same  moment,  Cromwell,  whose 
squadrons  occupied  the  right  wing,  attacked  the  left  wing  of 
the  king,  composed  of  the  cavaliers  of  the  northern  counties, 
under  the  command  of  sir  Marmaduke  Langdale  ;  and  imme- 
diately after,  the  two  bodies  of  infantry,  posted  in  the  centre 
—the  one  under  Fairfax  and  Skippon,  the  other  commanded 
by  the  king  in  person,  also  came  to  action.     No  battle  as  yet 
had  been  so  rapidly  general  or  so  fiercely  contested.     The 
two  armies  were  nearly  of  equal  strength  ;  the  royalists,  in- 
toxicated  with  insolent  confidence,  sent  forth  as  their  war-cry 
Queen   Mary;    the    parliamentarians,   firm    in    their    faith, 
marched  forward  singing,  God  is  with  us  !     Prince  Rupert 
made  his  first  attack  with  his  accustomed  success ;  after  a 
warm  conflict,  Ireton's  squadrons  were   broken  ;  Ireton  him- 
self,  wounded  in  the  shoulder,  and  his  thigh  pierced  by  a 
pike,  fell   for  awhile  into  the   hands  of  the  cavaliers.     But 
while  Rupert,  always  carried  away  by  the  same  fault,  pursued 
the  enemy  up  to  the  baggage,  well  defended  by  artillery,  and 
lost  time  in  attacking  that  post  in  the  hope  of  booty,  Cromwell, 
on  his  side,  master  of  himself  and  of  his  men  as  at  Marston 
Moor,  drove  in  Langdale's  squadrons,  and  leaving  two  of  his 
officers  to  prevent  their  rallying,  hastened   back   to  the  field 
of  battle,  where  the  infantry   were  engaged.      The  conflict 
was  here  more  violent  and  deadly  than  anywhere  else.     The 
parliamentarians,  charged  by  the  king  in  person,  had  been  at 
first    thrown    into    great    disorder;    Skippon  was    severely 
wounded  ;  Fairfax  urged  him  to  retire  ;  "  No,"  said  he,  "  as 
long  as  one  man  will  stand,  I  wont  stir  ;"  and  he  ordered  his 
reserve  to  advance.     A  blow  from  a  sword  beat  oflf  Fairfax  s 
helmet ;  Charles  Doyley,  the  colonel  of  his  guards,  seeing 
him  ride  about  the  field  bareheaded,  oflfered  him  his.     "  It  is 
well  enough,  Charles,"  said  Fairfax,  and  refused  it.     Then 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


297 


pointing  out  to  him  a  division  of  the  royal  infantry,  which  had 
as  yet  resisted  every  assault,  "  Can't  those  people  be  got  at," 
said  he  ;  "  have  you  charged  them  ?" — "  Twice,  general,  but 
I  could  not  break  them."—"  Well,  take  them  in  front,  I  will 
take  them  in  the  rear,  and  we  will  meet  in  the  middle  ;"  and 
they  did,  indeed,  meet  in  the  midst  of  the  dispersed  ranks. 
Fairfax  killed  with  his  own  hand  the  ensign,  and  delivered 
the  colors  into  the  hands  of  one  of  his  men ;  the  latter  boasted 
of  this  as  an  exploit  of  his  own :  Doyley,  who  overheard  the 
man,  grew  angry  :  ''  I  have  honor  enough,"  said  Fairfax,  who 
happened  to  pass  at  the  time  ;  <'  let  him  take  that  to  himself." 
The  royalists  were,  in  their  turn,  giving  way  in  every  di- 
rection, when  Cromwell  returned  with  his  victorious  squadrons. 
Desperate  at  this  sight,  Charles  put  himself  at  the  head  of  his 
regiment  of  life-guards,  the  only  one  he  had  left  in  reserve, 
to  attack  this  new  enemy.     The  order  was  already  given  and 
the  troops  in  motion,  when  the  earl  of  Carnewarth,  a  Scotch- 
man, who  was  galloping  by  the   side  of  the  king,  suddenly 
caught  hold  of  his  bridle,  and  exclaiming,  with  an  oath,  "  Do 
you  want  to  get  killed  ?"  turned  him  suddenly  to  the  right. 
The  cavaliers  who  were  nearest  the  king  turned  also,  without 
understanding  why;  the  others   followed,  and  in  an  instant 
the  whole  regiment  had  their  backs  to  the  enemy.     The  sur- 
prise of  the  army  became  terror  ;  all  dispersed  over  the  plain, 
some  to  escape,  others  to  stay  the  fugitives.     Charles,  amidst 
a  group  of  officers,  in  vain  cried — "  Stop  !  stop  !"     The  dis- 
persion went  on  unchecked,  till  prince  Rupert  returned  to  the 
field  of  battle  with   his  squadrons.     A  numerous  body  then 
formed  round  the  king,  but  disordered,  weary,  perplexed,  de- 
spondent.    Charles,  sword  in  hand,  his  eyes  glaring,  despair 
in  every  feature,  twice  dashed  forward,  vehemently  exclaim- 
ing, "  Gentlemen,  one  charge  more,  and  we  recover  the  day." 
But  no  one  followed  him ;  the  infantry,  broken  in  every  di- 
rection,  were  in  full  flight,  or  already  prisoners ;  retreat  was 
the  only  course   left  open  ;  and  the  king,   with   about  two 
thousand  horse,   galloped  off*  in  the  direction  of  Leicester, 
leaving  his  artillery,   ammunition,   baggage,  more  than  one 
hundred  flags,  his  own  standard,  five  thousand  men,  and  all 
his  cabinet  papers  in  the  possession  of  parliament.* 

*  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  42-44;  Clarendon,  ii.,  985,  &c. ;  Whitelocke, 
151 ;  May,  Breviary,  128. 


'...•'f 


W 


293 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


299 


This  victory  surpassed  the  most  daring  hopes.     Fairfax 
hastened  to  inform  the  parliament  of  it  in  a  calm,  simple  tone, 
without  any   political   allusion  or  advice      Cromwell   wrote 
also,  but  only  to  the  commons,  as  holdmg  his  commission  from 
them  alone  ;  his  letter  concluded  with  these  words  :  "This  is 
none  other  but  the  hand  of  God,  and  to  him  alone  belongs 
the  glory,  wherein  none  are  to  share  with  him.     The  general 
servid  you  with  all  faithfulness  and  honor ;  and  the  best 
commendation  I  can  give  him  is,  that  I  dare  say  he  attributes 
all  to  God,  and  would  rather  perish  than  assume  to  himselt, 
which  is  an  honest  and  a  thriving  way  ;  and  yet  as  much  for 
bravery  may  be  given  him  in  this  action  as  to  a  man.     Honest 
men"  (by  these  he  meant  the  fanatical  independents) "served 
vou  faithfully  in  this  action,  sir ;  they  are  trusty  ;  I  beseech 
you,  in  the   name  of  God,  not  to  discourage  them.     I  wish 
this  action  may  beget  thankfulness  and  humility  •"  aUthat 
are  concerned  in  it.     He  that  ventures  his  ife  for  the  liberty 
of  his  country,  I  wish  he  trust  God  for  the  liberty  of  his  con- 
science,  and  you  for  the  liberty  he  fights  for.  _     _  ^^, 

Some  were  offended  at  seeing  a  subordinate  officer,  a  ser- 
vant  of  parliament,  as  they  said,  distribute  advice  and  pra.se 
in  such  a  tone ;  but  their  displeasure  had  little  effec  amidst 
the  public  exultation  ;  and  the  day  on  which  Cromwell  s  letter 
reached  London,  the  lords  themselves  voted  that  his  command 
should  be  extended  to  three  months  longer  (June  16).T 

They  voted,  at  the  same  time,  that  advantage  ought  to  be 
taken  of  this  victory  to  address  to  the  king  reasonable  pro- 
posals  (June  20),$  and  the  Scottish  commissioners  expressed 
the  same  feeling  (July  28).§  But  the  conquerors  were  very 
far  from  any  such  idea.  Instead  of  answering,  the  commons 
requested  (June  30)  that  the  whole  body  of  citizens  should 
be  invited  to  assemble  at  Guildhall  to  hear  read  the  pape^ 
found  among  the  king's  baggage,  particularly  his  let  ers  to 
the  queen,  that  they  might  judge  for  themselves  what  trust 
could  thenceforward  be  placed  in  negotiation.  Fairfax  had 
hesitated  to  open  these  papers,  but  Cromwell  "^^  Ireton  had 
combated  his  scruples,  and  the  house  had  not  shared  them. 
The  reading  took  place  (July  3)  in  the  midst  of  an  immense 


•  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  45,  46. 

t  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  374.  X  lb.,  389. 


§  lb.,  375. 


concourse  of  people,*  and  had  a  prodigious  effect.     It  was 
clear  that  the  king  had  never  desired  peace  ;  that  in  his  eyes 
no  concession  was  definitive,  no  promise  obligatory:  that  in 
reality,  he   relied  only  on  force,  and  still   aimed  at  absolute 
power  ;  finally  that,  despite  protestations  a  thousand  times  re- 
peated, he  was  negotiating  with  the  king  of  France,  the  duke 
of  Lorraine    with   all   the   princes  of  the  continent,  to  have 
foreign  soldiers  sent  into  England  for  his  purposes.     Even 
the  name  of  parliament,  which  just  before,  to  obtain  the  con- 
ference  at   Uxbridge,  he  had  seemed  to  give  the  houses  at 
Westminster,  was   but  a  deception  on  his  part,  for,  in  giving 
It,  he  had  privately  protested   against  his  official  proceeding, 
and  caused  his  protest  to  be  inscribed  on  the  minutes  of  the 
council  at  Oxford.t     Every  citizen  was  allowed  to  convince 
himself,  with  his  own  eyes,  that  these  letters  were   really  in 
the  king  s  own  handwriting  4  and  after  the  meeting  at  Guild- 
hall,  the  parliament  had  them  published.^ 

Anger  became  universal ;  the  friends  of  peace  were  reduced 
0  silence.  Some  attempted,  but  in  vain,  to  prevent  this  pub- 
lication, a  gross  violation,  they  said,  of  domestic  secrets. 
Ihey  asked  how  far  their  authenticity  could  be  relied  on, 
whether  it  was  not  probable  that  several  had  been  mutilated 
and  others  altogether  omitted  ;||  they  insinuated  that  in  par- 
liament, also,  there  were  certain  men  who  had  negotiated 
with  no  greater  sincerity,  and  were  equally  determined 
against  peace ;  but  no  explanation,  no  excuse  is  received  by  a 

•  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  377;  May,  Breviary,  129. 

iJh  ,nH^i'"oI'T  S^l  ^''""^  *°  ^^.^  "1"^^"'  ^^  ^h«  2d  and  9th  of  January. 
15th  and  19th  of  February;  5th,  13th,  and  30th  of  March;  LudWs 
Mem  ;  Evelyn's  Mem.,  App.,  ii.,  90 ;  App.,  xiii. 
t  May,  ut  sup.  ^^ 

aAy.r'l^^  ^t  ^'^^^  f  "  "^^^  ^^<'  ^^^^"«*  «P«n«d,  or  certain  packets 
ot  secret  letters  and   papers,  written   by  the  king's  hand,  and  taken 

^^^,  *!!'  P^^^'^'^  ^"-  *^"  ^"^d  «f  ^^«^«  «^  ^^^^by!  the  14th  of  June^ 
m.nJ  ^  l  ^-  victorious  sir  Thomas  Fairfax,  in  which  are  revealed 
S  '^^*^T^  of  state,  which  fully  justify  the  cause  for  which  sir 
I.  5?^  f ?^^^a^  ^ave  battle  on  that  memorable  day;  with  notes  » 
!l  1  he  king  never  denied  the  authenticity  of  these  letters ;  he  even  ex- 
pressly  acknowledges  it  in  a  letter  written  to  sir  Edward  Nicholas,  on  the 
TnK5^T'^  ^^Z'"''  '^^'''^  "^^  a  ^^^  ^^^^«  ^ter  the  publication  (sir 
hv  n.  J""^^^" ?■  ^^"'''\"' ;^PP^"d^^' "-  ^01);  and  the  text  published 
by  parliament  is  exactly  the  same  as  that  inserted  in  the  "Works  of 
Charles  I.,"  published  in  London,  1660. 


300 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


people  when  it  has  once  discovered  that  an  attempt  has  been 
made  to  deceive  it.  Besides,  admitting  all  this,  the  kmg  s 
bad  faith  remained  evident,  and,  to  secure  peace,  it  was  at 
him  they  must  look.  War  alone  was  now  spoken  of;  the 
levies  of  troops  were  hurried  on,  taves  energetically  collected, 
the  estates  of  delinquents  sold,  all  the  troops  received  their 
pay,  all  the  more  important  towns  were  thoroughly  supplied 
with  ammunition.*  The  Scots,  at  last,  consented  to  advance 
into  the  interior  of  the  kingdom  (July  2)  ;t  and  Fairfax,  find- 
ing  no  longer  even  fugitives  to  pursue,  had  resumed  his  march 
(June  20),  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  in  the  western 
counties  the  object  which  the  siege  of  Oxford  had  obliged  h.m 

*°  Everything  was  changed  in  these  counties,  hitherto  the 
bulwark  of  the  royal  cause  ;  not  that  the  opinion  of  the  peo- 
pie  had  become  more  favorable  to  parliament,  but  that  it  was 
alienated  from  the   king.     He   still,  indeed,  possessed  there 
several  regiments,  and  almost  all  the  towns ;  but  the  war  was 
no  longer  carried  on  there  as  in  the  outset,  by  steady,  re- 
spected,   popular   men-the   marquis  of  Hertford    sir   Bevil 
Greenville;  lord  Hopton,  Trevannion,  Slanning,  disinterested 
friends  of  the  crown :  some  of  these  were  dead,  others  dis- 
gusted,  estranged  by  court  intrigues,  and   sacrificed  by    he 
king's  weakneis.     In  their  stead,  two  intriguers,  lord  Goring 
and  sir  Richard  Greenville,  commanded  there— one  the  most 
debauched,  the  other  the  most  rapacious  of  the  cavaliers ;  no 
principle,  no  affection  attached  them  to  the  royal  cause  but 
by  making  war  in  its  name,  they  obtained  the  opportunity  of 
gratifying  their  own  passions,  of  oppressing  their  enemies, 
of  revenging,  enjoying,   enriching  themselves.     Goring  was 
brave,  beloved  by  his  men,  and  not  deficient  either  m  sk> 
or  energy  on  the  field  of  battle ;  but  nothing  could  equal  h.s 
recklessness  and  the  insolent  intemperance  of  his  conduct  and 
even  his  language.     Nor  was  his  loyalty  to  be  relied  upon  ;  he 
had  already  betrayed,  first  the  king,i:  then  the  parliament,^ 
and  seemed  always  on  the  point  of  some  new  treason.]!     bir 

t  Fn'jMl'fat  the'timl'the  army  first  conspired  agajnst 'the  parliament^ 

I  In  August,  1642.  at  the  beginning  of  the  civil  war,  by  giving  up 
Pottlmoutf  to  the  king,  of  whicl.  place  parliament  had  appointed  h.m 

the  governor. 

II  Clarendon,  ii.,pa««wi. 


_____^_     ENGLISH   REVOLUTION.  qqj 

£Si5Tft^ci::tr?:t■'I  ^-^  r  ^  '"«-"««•  -th 

courage,  if  not  duWous    S  In  .  ^"'^  '"^^"'^ble,  and  his 

passed^'is  time  in  Win.  contr!butionr/  "^  '^^T  "« 
did  not  collect,  or  for  expediSs  wh^h  h  '^•i'"°"P'  ''^'"'^  ^^ 
the  trouble  to  beein      Th«  »         ^^"'^}'^  ^'^  "ot  even  take 

leaders  ;  i,  was  nIL  Jr  a  Z2  W  "^  "^^".^f  ""'  "^"  ''^  '^ 

tions  and  its  interestn-rivlCUde^d  buf '''"'='  °'J''  ^«"^<=- 
but  devoted  ;  it  was  a  rabhl.^f'         t '  j     '^'"cere,  licentious 

to  the   eaus;,  fitting  day  Ld'SftL 
'excesses,  and  disgustin/hvTh^?,    "^      ^  '"°^'  intolerable 

their  extUions  ^rhrfrinte  of  W 'w'  *  '°"k°"^,  '"'"'"^  ''^ 
reduced   to  make  use  of^noh  L  '  °'  ?"'^'"  '"^  <=°"ncil, 

fruitless  efforts  by  ^nf  trsl™/";  foTo nf^t- °"'  ''^ 

tr;4nTa\^;eT?i:e-*^^^^ 

thefe^eTotiTSr  'EsaX"ft^ '°  ^  ^PP^'" 
under  the  name  of '' e^u^rr^eJ^ZT^' :2'':C  ^kf'.::^' 

Siam'lt^  1l  thTwfshXU  tl  '''  r  "^^^^^^^oX 
from  their  villages  and  fields  and  th.  ''/^^  '''""^"^  °'  ^" 
they  had  reaso^  to^thtd'tliet^atgr^m"  whH 

st«e%:a-bX^  ^z  t^d^^^ 
r:i=f;irrrp-^^ 

risons  of    Koth   parties,    undertaking   to   supply   them    l?th 
provisions,  ^  condition  that  they  would  not  seize  a^v  w  h 

blts'l^dTevTad''"^^   rrH  ^h-  ^--   eo^^^^^^ 
worTs':  ^  '"'"""^"^  °^  '^^''  ^"^^^^  colors  these 

"  If  you  offer  to  plunder  our  cattle,  * 

Be  assured  we  will  give  you  battle."! 
♦  Clarendon,  ii,  passim. 
t  Clarendon,  ii.,  997 ;  Letter  from  Fairfax  to  the  committee  of  the 


302 


HISTOBy    OF    THB 


ENGLISH   EEVOLtrriON. 


303 


<?n  lon,T  as  the  royalists  prevailed  in  the  west,  it  was  against 
Aem  the  cub.^n  assembled,  and  it  was  with  the  parlia- 
Srta  ians  hatthey  seemed  disposed  to  combine.     Now  they 
SeTd  tLburn  L  houses  of  whomsoever  re^-d  to  jom 
them  in  exterminating  the  cavaliers,*  ^"d  invrted  Massey 
who  commanded  in  the  name  of  the  P"l';r.nt  "^^^^Z 
tershire,  to  come  with  them  and  besiege  H^^fof^' r'^;^"^^ 
cavaliers  infested  the  country-t     On  the  2d  f  J"°«';\^f  ;'^ 
six  thousand  of  them  addressed  a  petition  to  the  prince  oi 
Wales,Tmplaining   of   Goring,    and    -'withstaf  ^   ^J  . 
prince's  orde'rs,  refused  to  separate4  .  ^^J^e   beginning  ot 
July,  Fairfax  arrived  as  a  conqueror  in  the  west     the  cava 
Hers  were  intimidated  and  ceased  to  devastate  the  country 

aril;  ir^v-rs  r»-r.is:"K»-"». 

neeotiatrd  whh  them,  personally  attended  some  of  their  meet- 
3,  and  promised  thlm  peace' while  vigorously  pro^cuung 
Z      In  a  few  days  the  campaign  was  at  an  end      ^or  ng 
surprised  and  beaten  at  Langport  m  So'^^'-ff.f  ^''^  ^^^^^^^ 
left  the  remnant  of  his  troops  to  disperse  whither  Aey  liked 
sir  Richard  Greenville  sent  his  commission  of  fieW-m™ 
to  the  prince  of  Wales,  impudently  complaining  that  he  had 
been  m'ade  to  carry  on  the  war  at  his  own  3"^'  The 
three  weeks  after  the  arrival  of  Fairfax,  the  cavaliers,  wno 
had  laTe^^^^^^^^^  the  west  of  England  as  -fe"^^^ 

almost  all  shut  up  in  the  towns  which  Fairfax  next  prepared 

'"  MeSfme,  in  every  direction,  people  were  asking  one 
another  what  the  king  was  doing^nay,  where  he  was  tor 
scarcely  any  one  knew.  After  the  disaster  of  Na^by  he  had 
fled  from  town  to  town,  scarcely  giving  himself  any  repose 
and  taking  sometimes  the  road  to  the  "orth,  sometimes  that 
to  the  west,  to  join  Montrose  or  Gormg,  ^ccordrng  fj^he  "^^^^ 
bility  of  his  fears  and  projects.  On  arriving  at  Hereford,  he 
resolved  to  go  into  Wales,  where  he  hoped  to  recruit  his  in- 
two  kingdoms,  July  3, 1645 ;  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  380 ;  Whitelocke,  ;>a.*im ; 

^'*'\vhltdc^ke,  136.        t  Ih..  passim.  X  Clarendon  ut  sup^ 

§  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  380-386.  II  Clarendon,  ii.,  100b. 


fantry,  sent  prince  Rupert  to  Bristol,  and  proceeded  himself 
to  Ragland  castle,  the  seat  of  the  marquis  of  Worcester,  the 
chief  of  the  catholic  party,  and  the  richest  nobleman  in 
England.  Secret  projects,  in  which  the  catholics  alone  could 
aid  him,  regulated  this  determination.  Besides,  for  three 
years  the  marquis  had  given  the  king  proofs  of  inexhaustible 
devotion ;  he  had  lent  him  100,000/.,  had  levied  at  his  own 
expense  two  regiments,  under  the  command  of  his  son,  lord 
Herbert,  earl  of  Glamorgan,  and  notwithstanding  his  age  and 
infirmities,  personally  superintended  a  strong  garrison  in  his 
own  castle.  He  received  the  king  with  respectful  pomp, 
assembled  the  nobility  of  the  neighborhood,  and  surrounded 
him  with  the  festivities,  the  sports,  the  homage,  the  pleasures 
of  a  court.  The  fugitive  Charles  breathed  freely  for  awhile, 
as  if  restored  to  his  natural  position ;  and  for  more  than  a 
fortnight,  forgetting  his  misfortunes,  his  perils,  his  kingdom, 
only  thought  of  enjoying  his  renewed  royalty.* 

The  news  of  the  disasters  in  the  west,  drew  him  at  last 
from  his  illusive  apathy.     At  the  same  time,  he  learned  that 
in  the  north  the  Scots  had  taken  Carlisle  (June  28),  and  were 
marching  towards  the  south,  meditating  the  siege  of  Hereford. 
He  left  Ragland  to  go  to  the  assistance '  of  Goring,  but  had 
scarcely  reached  the  banks  of  the  Severn,  before  the  ill  con- 
dition of  the  new  levies,  the  dissensions  among  the  officers, 
and  a  thousand  unforeseen  difficulties,  discouraged  him,  and 
he  returned  into  Wales.     He  was  at  Cardiff,  not  knowing  upon 
what  to  resolve,  when  a  letter  was  delivered  to  him,  written 
by  prince  Rupert  to  the  duke  of  Richmond,  to  be  shown  to 
the  king.     The  prince  considered  that  all  was  lost,  and  coun- 
selled peace,  on  whatever  terms.     As  soon  as  his  honor  seemed 
in  danger,  Charles  regained  an  energy  which  he  never  had 
when  his  mere   personal  safety  was  involved.     He  at  once 
replied  to  his  nephew  thus  (Aug.  3) :  "  If  I  had  any  other 
quarrel  but  the  defence  of  my  religion,  crown,  and  friends, 
you  had  full   reason  for  your   advice.     For  I  confess,  that 
speaking  either  as  to  mere  soldier  or  statesman,  I  must  say  there 
IS  no  probability  but  of  my  ruin  ;  but  as  to  Christian,  I  must 
tell  you,  that  God  will  not  suffer  rebels  to  prosper,  or  his 
cause  to  be  overthrown :  and  whatever  personal  punishment  it 

•  Walker's  Discourses,  132. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


804 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


305 


shall  Dlease  him  to  inflict  upon  me  must  not  make  me  repme, 
mKss  to  ^ive  over  this  quarrel.  I  must  avow  to  al  my 
friends  ?hat  he  that  will  stay  with  me  at  this  time,  must  ex- 
let  and  resolve  either  to  die  for  a  good  cause,  or  which  is 
C:,t  Iwe  as  miserable  in  the  -intd^^^^^^^^ 
nf  insultinff  rebels  can  make  him.  For  God  s  sake,  lei  us  noi 
troursllves  with  these  conceits  ;  -^  beUeve  me^^^^^^^^^ 

much  the  sooner  ;       ana,  lo  r«iu>  ma      j  ^„;x._  j  Walps 

calling  himself  all  his  courage  he  at  once  q^^^d  Wae  , 
passed,  without  being  observed  the  q^^ers  of  the  Sco^UJ 
Hrmv  already  encamped  under  the  walls  of  Herelord,  rapwiy 
Ssed  Shropshirerstaffordshire,  Derbyshire,  and  Netting- 
hamsWre,  and,'arriving  safely  in  Yorkshire  summoned  ^^^^^^^ 
faithful  cavaliers  in  the  north  to  go  with  him  to  jom  Montrose, 
likp  them  faithful,  and  still  victorious.^ 

The  cavaliers  hastened  to  obey  the  summons  ;  the  presenc 
of  the  kins  who  had  so  long  lived  among  them,  excited  a  warm 
en  husiasm  throughout  the  country ;  at  the  first  mention  of 
tevlg  a  regiment  of  infantry,  large  bodies  of  men,  among  he 
re  J,  iL  late'garrisons  of  Pontefract  and  Scarborough^; 
had  been  obliged  to  surrender   for  want  of  provisions,  ana 
were  now  at  liberty,  came  forward,  and  in  three  days  nearly 
Three  tCustnd  men  had  offered  their  services  to  the  king,  pro- 
m  sTng  to  be  ready,  within  twenty-four  hours,  to  ma^ch  a^ 
moment's  notice.     They  now  only  waited  for  a  letter  hom 
Montrose  to  know  whether  they  should  go  and  join  mm  in 
Soo^  and  or  meet  him  in  England.     All  at  once,  they  learned 
fh^Sid  lX,  at  the  fead  of  the  f -ttish X^^^;,  .^ 
quitted  the  siege  of  Hereford,  and  was  already  at  Rotherhain, 
?en  miles  from^  Doncaster,  «=ekmg  everywhere  for  the  king 

The  disaster  of  N-by  ha^.  ^  ^  £  e"  wast  1-  « 
Pf  tainsf  tf;  SS;  Jf  danger..  Many  ged^  Do. 
caster,  Ind  no  others  took  their  place  :  m  the  opmion  ot  eve 
the  bravest,  it  was  too  late  to  attempt  a  J""etion  with  Mo" 
trose  •  the  king's  safety  was  now  the  sole  point  to  be  attenaea 
r  He  departed,  followed  by  about  fifteen  hundred  horse 
traversed  without  obstacle  the  centre  of  the  kingdom,  even 


v.. 


Clarendon,  ii.,  1019. 


t  Walker,  134,  135. 


defeated  on  the  road  a  few  parliamentary  detachments,  and 
re-entered  Oxford  on  the  29th  of  August,  not  knowing  what  to 
do  with  the  handful  of  troops  which  now  remained  to  him.* 

He  had  been  there  two  days,  when  the  news  reached  him 
of  the  recent  and  prodigious  success  of  Montrose  in  Scotland  ; 
it  was  no  longer  merely  in  the  extreme  north  of  the  kingdom' 
among  the  highlanders,  that  the  royal  cause  was  triumphant ; 
Montrose  had  advanced  towards  the  south,  into  the  lowlands ; 
and  on  the  1.5th  of  August,  at  Kilsyth,  not  far  from  the  ruins 
of  the  Roman  wall,  had  obtained  over  the  covenanters,  com- 
manded by  Baillie,  the  seventh  and  most  splendid  of  his  victo- 
ries.    The  hostile  army  was  destroyed  ;  all  the  neighboring 
towns,  Bothwell,  Glasgow,  even  Edinburgh,  had  opened  their 
gates  to  the  conqueror ;  all  the  royalists  whom  the  Scottish 
parliament   had  detained   in  prison,  were   released;  all   the 
timid,  who  had  waited   for  some  decided  success  to  declare 
themselves,  the  marquis  of  Douglas,  the  earls  of  Annandale 
and  Linlithgow,  the  lords  Seaton,  Drummond,  Erskine,  Car- 
negie,  dec,  now  disputed  which  should  be  the  first  to  offer  his 
services  to  the  king,  fearing  to  be  too  late.     The  parliamenta- 
rian leaders  were  flying  in  every  direction,  some  to  England, 
others  to  Ireland. f     Finally,  the  cavalry  of  the  Scottish  army, 
who  were  besieging  Hereford,  were  recalled  in  all  haste  to 
defend  their  own  country.     Some  even  said,  that  when  of 
late  Lesley  appeared  in  the  neighborhood  of  Doncaster,  far 
from  seeking  to  encounter  the  king,  he  was  on  his   march 
towards   Scotland,    and  that  the  royalists   had   been   utterly 
mistaken  in  their  fears. f 

At  this  glorious  intelligence,  Charles's  courage  revived,  and 
he  immediately  departed  from  Oxford  (Aug.  31),  to  march 
against  the  Scottish  army,  take  advantage  of  its  reduced  state, 
and  compel  it  at  least  to  raise  the  siege  of  Hereford.  On  his 
way,  as  he  passed  Ragland,  he  was  informed  that  Fairfax  had 
just  invested  Bristol,  the  most  important  of  his  possessions  in 

*  Walker,  135,  136  ;  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  116 
t  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  230 ;  Guthrie,  Memoirs,  &c.,  189. 
t  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  231.  Lesley  had  left  the  siege  of  Hereford  in  the 
first  days  of  August,  and  the  battle  of  Kilsyth  did  not  take  place  till 
the  Ipth.  It  is  therefore  evident  that  he  detached  himself  from  the 
Scottish  army  to  follow  the  king,  and  could  not  have  been  at  that  time 
recalled  to  the  assistance  of  his  country. 

26* 


306 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


ENGLISH  EEVOLUnON. 


807 


the  west ;  but  the  place  was  strong,  and  Prince  Rupert,  who 
defended  it  with  a  good  garrison,  promised  to  hold  out  four 
months  a  least :  thf  king  therefore  felt  no  anxiety  respecting 
h  When  he  was  yet  a  day's  journey  from  Hereford,  he 
learned  that  the  Scots,  at  the  news  of  his  approach,  had  raised 
the  siege,  and  were  precipitately  retreating  towards  the  north. 
He  wal  urged  to  pursue  them ;  they  were  disconcerted,  fa- 
tigued, in  disorder,  and  were  traversing  a  country  il  -deposed 
towards  them  ;  to  harass  them  would  perhaps  suffice  to  destroy 
Zm  But  Charles  was  fatigued  himself  by  an  activity  which 
surpassed  his  strength  ;  he  must,  he  said,  go  to  the  succor  of 
Bristol ;  and  pending  the  arrival  of  some  troops  recalled  from 
The  west  for  this  purpose,  he  returned  to  Ragland  cas  e 
attracted  by  the  charms  of  that  place,  or  to  d'f^^XTr  *£ 
marquis  of  Worcester  the  great  and  mysterious  affair  which 

^eTd  srcTSKen  he  received  the  most  unex 
pected  news,  that  prince  Rupert  had  surrendered  Bnsto  (Sept 
11)+  at  the  first  attack,  almost  without  resistance,  though  he 
wanted  nothing,  ramparts,  provisions,  nor  «'Wiers      Chare 
was  in  utter  consternation :  it  was  the  entire  rum  of  his  affai.s 
ki  the  west.     He  wrote  to  the  prince  4  "  Nephew,-though 
L  loss  of  Bristol  be  a  great  blow  to  me,  yet  yo-  surrender 
incr  it  as  vou  did,  is  of  much  affliction  to  me,  that  it  makes 
ml  not  only  forget  the  consideration  of  that  place,  but  is  like- 
wTse  the  grLtes^t  trial  of  my  constancy  that  hath  yet  be  f^" 
me      For  what  is  to  be  done,  after  one  that  is  so  ."ear  to  me 
Ts  ;ou  are,  both  in  blood  and  friendship,  submits  himself  to  an 
action  so  mean  (I  give  it  the  easiest  term),  an  ^etion  so— — 
I  have  so  much  to  say,  that  I  wiU  say  no  more  of  it     on  y, 
lest  rashness  of  judgment  be  laid  to  my  charge,  I  must  re- 
member vou  of  your  letter  of  the  12th  of  August,  wherein 
you  aiured  me  tLt  if  no  mutiny  happened  you  woud  keejp 
Bristol  for  four  months.     Did  you  keep  it  four  days  ?     W« 
there  anvthins  like  a  mutiny  ?     More  questions  might  be 
iked,  but  nol,  I  confess,  to  liW  purpose  ;  -y --lu^^"^^ 
to  desire  vou  to  seek  your  subsistence,  until  it  shall  please 
GcJtodJtermine  of  m^y  condition,  somewhere  ^r^-^J^ 
to  which  end  I  send  you  herewith  a  pass.    And  I  pray  Ooa 


to  make  you  sensible  of  your  present  condition,  and  give  you 
means  to  redeem  what  you  have  lost ;  for  I  shall  have  no 
greater  joy  in  victory  than  a  just  occasion,  without  blushing, 
to  assure  you  of  my  being  your  loving  uncle  and  most  faith- 
ful friend,  Charles  R."* 

He  wrote  the  same  day  to  Oxford,f  whither  the  prince  had 
retired,  to  order  the  lords  of  the  council  to  demand  the  prince's 
commissions,  watch  his  proceedings,  dismiss  colonel  William 
Legge,  an  intimate  friend  of  Rupert,  from  his  post  as  governor 
of  Oxford,  and  to  arrest  the  colonel,  and  even  the  prince,  if 
any  disturbance  was  excited  ;  and  his  letter  concluded  with 
this  postscript  :  "  Tell  my  son  I  would  rather  hear  of  his 
death,  than  of  his  doing  so  cowardly  an  act  as  this  surrender 
of  Bristol.":): 

One  resource  was  left  to  the  king,  the  same  which  he  had 
already  attempted  in  vain — to  join  Montrose.  It  was,  more- 
over, necessary  for  him  to  march  towards  the  north,  to  relieve 
Chester,  again  besieged,  and  which,  now  Bristol  was  lost,  was 
the  only  port  where  succors  from  Ireland,  his  sole  remaining 
hope,  could  land.  After  a  week  spent  at  Hereford  in  deep 
despondency,  he  set  off  over  the  Welsh  mountains,  the  only 
road  by  which  he  could  escape  a  body  of  parliamentarians, 
who,  under  the  command  of  major-general  Poyntz,  were 
watching  all  his  motions.  He  was  still  accompanied  by  about 
five  thousand  men,  Welsh  infantry  and  northern  horse.  He 
was  already  within  sight  of  Chester,  when  the  parliamentari- 
ans, who  had  started  later,  but  had  found  a  more  direct  and 
better  road,  came  upon  his  rear-guard  (at  Rounton  Heath, 
Sept.  24.)^  Sir  Marmaduke  Langdale,  who  commanded  it, 
charged  the  enemy  with  so  much  vigor,  that  he  forced  them 
to  fall  back  in  disorder.  But  colonel  Jones,  who  directed  the 
siege,  detached  a  body  of  troops  under  his  own  orders  and 
appeared  suddenly  in  the  royalist  rear.  Poyntz  rallied  his 
nien.  The  king,  placed  between  two  fires,  saw  his  best  offi- 
cers fall  around  him,  and  soon  put  to  flight  himself,  returned 
utterly  desperate  into  Wales,  once  more  driven  back,  as  by 

*  Clarendon,  ii.,  1042. 

t  To  the  secretary  of  state,  sir  Edward  Nicholas. 

X  Clarendon,  ut  sup.  ;  Evelyn,  Memoirs,  ii.,  App.  107 — 109. 

§  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  117  ;  Clarendon,  ii.,  1069. 


308 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


309 


an  insurmountable  barrier,  from  the  camp  of  Montrose,  his 

This  hope  itself  was  now  only  a  delusion  ;  for  the  last  ten 
days  Montrose,    like    the    king,  was  a  fugitive,  seeking   an 
asylum  and  soldiers.     On  the  13th  of  September,  at  Philip- 
haucrh,  in  Ettrick   forest,  near  the  border,  Lesley,  whose  ap- 
proach  he  was  quite  unconscious  of,  surprised  him,  weak  and 
ill-guarded.     Despite  all  his  etTorts,  the  highlanders  had  left 
him  to  return  home,  and  so  secure  their  plunder.     Some  lords, 
the  earl  of  Aboyne   among  others,  jealous  of  his  glory,  had 
also  quitted    him  with  their  vassals  ;  others,  such   as  lords 
Traquair,  Hume,  Roxburgh,  mistrusting  his  fortune,  notwith- 
standin^T  their  promises,*  had  not  joined  him.     Bold,  brilliant 
in  his  d'esigns,  in  mean  hearts  he  excited  envy,  and  inspired 
no  security  in  the  timid.     There  was,  moreover,  a  love  of 
display,  and   somewhat   of  the   braggadocio  in  his  character, 
which  was  injurious  to  his  influence  :  his  officers  served  hnn 
with  earnest  devotion,  his  soldiers  with  enthusiasm,  but  he 
did  not  produce  the  same  effect  upon  his  equals.     His  power, 
besides,  had  no  other   foundation  than  his  victories,  and  pru- 
dent   men,  daily  an  increasing  class,  looked   upon  him  with 
surprise,  as  a  meteor  which  nothing  checks,  but  which  has 
only  a  certain  course  to  run.     One  reverse  of  fortune  sufficed 
to  dissipate  all  his  eclat ;  and  the  day  after  his  defeat,  the 
conqueror  of  Scotland  was  nothing  but  an  audacious  outlaw. 
On  hearing  of  this  blow,  Charles  cast  his  eyes  around  hirn 
/   with  terror,  utterly  at  a  loss  where  to  place  his  hope.     He 
/    was  deficient  even  in  councillors.     The  wisest  of  them,  lord 
Capel,  Colepepper,  and  Hyde,  he  had  placed  with  his  son ; 
lord  Digby  was  almost  the  only  one  remaining,  adventurous, 
confident  as  ever,  always  ready  to  oppose  projects  to  defeats ; 
and,  notwithstanding  the  sincerity  of  his  zeal,  intent  above 
all  things  on  retaining  his  influence.     At  one  time,  the  king 
entertained  the  idea  of  retiring  to  spend  the  winter  in  Angle- 
sey,  an  island  on  the  coast  of  Wales,  within  easy  reach  ot 
Ireland,  and  susceptible  of  a  stout  defence.     He  was  easily 
dissuaded  from  thus  forsaking  his  kingdom,  where  he  still  pos- 
sessed  strong  places,  such  as  Worcester,  Hereford,  Chester, 
Oxford,  and  Newark.     Every  one  else  inclined  to  Worcester, 

•  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  231 ;  Guthrie,  Memoirs,  198. 


but  nothing  could  be  less  palatable  to  lord  Digby's  views. 
The  declared  enemy  of  prince  Rupert,  it  was  he  who,  after 
the  surrender  of  Bristol,  had  fomented  the  king's  anger,  and 
urged,  it  was  said,  the  severity  he  had  exercised  towards  his 
nephew.  He  well  knew  that  Rupert,  whose  fury  had  not  yet 
subsided,  was  determined  to  see  the  king,  to  justify  himself, 
and  take  his  revenge.  Now  at  Worcester,  he  could  easily 
accomplish  this,  for  prince  Maurice,  his  brother,  was  governor 
of  that  town.  Of  all  the  places  to  which  the  king  could  re- 
tire,  Newark  was  that  where  prince  Rupert  would  have  the 
greatest  difficulty  in  obtaining  an  audience.  To  the  great 
surprise  of  all  around  him,  the  king  decided  upon  going  to 
Newark.* 

The  prince  was  soon  informed  of  this ;  and  notwithstand- 
ing  his    prohibition,    immediately   set    out    for    Newark    to 
see  the  king.     Charles  repeated  that  he  would  not  receive 
him ;  but  lord  Digby,  for  all  that,  grew  uneasy.     Whether 
by  chance  or  by  design,  a  report  all   at  once   circulated  that 
Montrose  had  retrieved  his  defeat,  had  beaten  Lesley,  and  was 
just  on  the  borders.     Without  waiting  for  further  information, 
the  king  set  out  with   lord  Digby  and  two  thousand  horse,  to 
make  a  third  attempt  to  join  him.     The  error  under  which  he 
was  acting  was  speedily  dissipated  ;  after  two  days'  march, 
they  had  certain  intelligence  that  Montrose,  without  any  sol' 
diers  at  all,  was  still  wandering  in  the  highlands.     The  king 
could  do  nothing  but  return  to  Newark,  as  Digby  himself  ad- 
mitted.    But  fully  resolved  not  to  return  there  at  the  risk  of 
encountering  prince  Rupert,  he  persuaded  the  king  that,  at 
whatever  cost,  aid  must   be  sent  to  Montrose,  and  he  under, 
took  to  convey  it.     They  parted  ;  Digby,  with  fifteen  hundred 
horse,  nearly  all  the  king  had  left,  continued  his  route  towards 
the  north  ;  and  Charles  returned   to  Newark  with  three  or 
lour  hundred  horse  as  his  entire  army,  and  John  Ashbumham, 
his  valet  de  chambre,  as  his  council. f 

On  his  arrival,  he  heard  that  Rupert  was  at  Belvoir  castle, 
nine  miles  off,  with  his  brother  Maurice,  and  an  escort  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  officers.  He  sent  him  word  to  remain 
there  until  further  orders,  already  angry  that  he  had  come  so 
near  without  his  consent.  But  the  prince  still  advanced,  and 
many  officers  of  the  garrison  of  Newark,  even  the  governor, 
*  Clarendon,  ii.,  1073.  f  lb.,  1078. 


I  j 


310 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


31] 


1: 


sir  Richard  Willis,  went  to  meet  him.  He  arrived,  and  with- 
out  being  announced,  presented  himself,  with  all  his  suite, 
before  the  king.  -  Sire,"  he  said,  -I  am  come  to  render 
an  account  of  the  loss  of  Bristol,  and  to  clear  myself  from 
the  imputations  which  have  been  cast  on  me.  Charles,  as 
perplexed  as  irritated,  scarcely  answered  him.  It  was  supper 
time  ;  the  prince's  escort  withdrew  ;  the  royal  party  sat  down 
to  table  :  the  king  talked  with  Maurice  without  addressing  a 
word  to  Rupert,  and,  supper  over,  retired  to  his  room.  Ku- 
pert  went  and  took  up  his  abode  with  the  governor.  The 
liext  day,  however,  the  king  consented  to  the  calling  of  a 
council  of  war,  and  after  a  few  hours'  sitting,  a  declaration 
was  given,  stating  that  the  prince  had  not  been  deficient 
either  in  courage  or  fidelity.  No  solicitation  could  obtain 
more  than  this  from  the  king. 

It  was   too   little  to  satisfy  the  prince  and  his  partisans. 
Thev  remained  at  Newark,  giving  unrestrained  vent  to  their 
ancer.     The  king,  on  his  side,  undertook  to  put  an  end  to  the 
growing  excesses  of  the  garrison.     For  two  thousand  men, 
fhere  were  twenty-four  officers,  generals  or  colonels,  whose 
maintenance    absorbed   nearly   all   ^he   contributions   of  the 
countv  *     The  gentlemen  of  the  neighborhood,  even  those  ot 
the  most  devoted  loyalty,  bitterly  complained  of  the  governor 
Charles  resolved  to  remove  him,  but,  out  of  consideration  ior 
appearances,  to  give  him  some  office  about  his  person-     He 
therefore  informed  him  that  he  was  appointed  colonel  oi  his 
horse  guards.     Sir  Richard  refused,  saying,  that  people  would 
regard  this  promotion  as  a  disgrace ;  that  he  was  too  poor  lor 
thi  court  :  "I  will  see  to  that,"  said  the  king,  dismissing  him. 
The  very  same  day,  at  dinner  time,  when  Charles  was  at  table, 
sir  Richard  Willis,  the  two  princes,  lord  Gerrard,  and  twenty 
officers  of  the  garrison  abruptly  entered  :  -  What  your  ma- 
jesty  said  to  me  this  morning  in  private,"  «aid  Willis      is 
now  the  public  talk  of  the  town,  and  very  much  to  my  d  sho- 
nor."     "It  is  not  for  any  fault,"  added  Rupert,  "  that  sir 
Richard  loses  his  government,  but  because  he  is  my  friend. 
"  All  this,"  said  lord  Gerrard,  "  is  a  plot  of  lord  Digby  s,  who 
is  himself  a  traitor,  and  I  will  prove  it."  ,,     ♦  iio  nnd 

Astonished  and  perplexed,  Charles  rose  from  the  table,  ana 

•  Clarendon,  ii.,  1079. 


moving  a  few  steps  towards  his  private  apartment,  ordered 
Willis  to  follow  him  :  «  No,  sire,"  replied  Willis ;  "  I  received 
a  public  injury,  and  I  expect  a  public  satisfaction."  At  this, 
Charles,  losing  all  self-command,  pale  with  anger,  sprang 
towards  them,  and  with  a  loud  voice  and  threatening  gesture, 
said  :  "  Quit  my  presence,  and  come  no  more  near  me."' 
Agitated  in  their  turn,  they  all  hastily  went  out,  returned  to 
the  governor's  house,  sounded  to  horse,  and  left  the  town,  to 
the  number  of  two  hundred  cavaliers. 

All  the  garrison,  all  the  inhabitants  hastened  to  offer  the 
king  the  expression  of  their  devotion   and  respect.     In  the 
evening,  the  malecontents  sent  to  him  for  passports,  begging 
him  not  to  consider  this  as  a  mutiny  :    "  I  shall  not  now 
christen  it,"  said  the  king ;  "  but  it  looks  very  like  one.     As 
for  passports,  let  them  have  as  many  as  they  please."*     He 
was  still  full  of  agitation  at  this  scene,  when  he  received  the 
intelligence  that  lord  Digby,  in  his  march  towards  Scotland, 
had  been  overtaken  and  beaten  at  Sherborne  by  a  detachment 
of  parliamentarians  (towards  the  middle  of  October,  1645)  ;+ 
that  his  cavaliers  were  dispersed,  and  he  himself  gone  none 
knew  whither.     So  there   remained  in  the  direction  of  the 
north  neither  soldiers  nor  hope.     Even  Newark  was  no  longer 
safe  :  Poyntz's  troops  had  approached,  taking  possession  sue- 
cessively  of  all  the  neighboring  places,  drawing  their  lines 
every  day  closer  and  closer  round  it,  so  that  it  was  already  a 
question  whether  the  king  could  pass.     On  the  3d  of  Novem- 
ber, at  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  four  or  five  hundred  cavaliers, 
the  wreck  of  several  regiments,  were  assembled  in  the  market- 
place :  the  king  appeared,  took  the  command  of  a  squadron, 
and  left  Newark  by  the  Oxford  road.     He  had  had  his  beard 
shaved  off;  two  small  royalist  garrisons,  situated  on  his  way, 
had  received  notice  of  his  design  ;  he  travelled  day  and  night, 
with  difficulty  avoiding  the  enemy,  and  thought  himself  saved 
when  he   re-entered  Oxford  (Nov.  6,   1645)  ;  for  there  he 
Jound  once  more  his  council,  his  court,  his  ordinary  mode  of 
life,  and  somewhat  of  rest.| 

He  soon  found  misery  also  :  while  he  had  been  wandering 
irom  county  to  county,  from  town  to  town,  Fairfax  and 
tromwell,  having  nothing  to  fear  from  him,  and  certain  that 

•  Clarendon,  ii.,  1083.  f  lb.,  1067 ;  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  128. 

;  Clarendon,  n.,  1085;  Walker,  146  ;  Evelyn,  Mem.,  ii.,  App.   109- 


S13 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLirnON. 


313 


the  troops  of  Poyntz  would  suffice  to  harass  him  had  pursuea 
Z  course  of  their  suocesses  in  the  west      In  less  than  five 
months,  fifteen  places  of  importance    Br.dgewater  (July  23. 
1645),  Bath  (July  29),  Sherborne  (Aug.  15),  Devizes  (bept. 
23),  Winchester  (Sept.  28),  Basing-House  (Oct  14),  Tiverton 
(Oct.  19),  Monmouth  (Oct.  22),  &c.,  had  fallen  mto  their 
hands      To  such  garrisons  as  showed  themselves  disposed  to 
listen  to  their  overtures,  they  unhesitatingly  granted  honor- 
able  conditions  ;  where  a  less  compliant  answer  was  given, 
they  immediately  proceeded  to  storm.*     For  a  moment  the 
clubmen   gave   them  some  uneasiness.      After   having  dis- 
persed  them  several  times  by  fair  ^"-^^s    Cromwell  at  last 
found  himself  obliged  to  attack  them.     He  did  so  suddenly 
and  fiercely,  skilful  in  passing  all  at  once,  according  to  circu.n- 
stances,  from  gentleness  to  severity,  from  seventy  to  gentle- 
ness.     By  his  advice,  parliament  denounced  as  high    reason 
all  associations  of  the  kind  (Aug.  23)  ;t  some  of  the  leaders 
were  arrested  ;  the  strict  discipline  of  the  army  reassured  the 
people;  the  clubmen  soon  disappeared;  and  when  the  king 
re-entered  Oxford,  the  situation  of  his  party  in  the  west  was 
so  desperate,  that  next  morning  (Nov.  7)  he  wrote  to  the  prince 
of  Wales  directing  him  to  hold  himself  ready  to  pass  over  to 

the  continent. ±  . ,         ,    .  .    j  ,.,  „ 

For  himself,  he  had  no  plan— no  idea  what  to  do  ;  now  a 

prey  to  passionate   anguish,  now  seeking  to  forget  m  repose 

the  feeling  of  his  utter  powerlessness.     He  invited,  however 

the  council  to  point  out  some  expedient  to  him,  some  method 

of  proceeding  from  'which  a  favorable  result  might  be  looked 

for.     There  was  no  choice  left :  the  council  proposed  a  mes. 

sacre  to  parliament,  and  the  request  of  a  safe-conduct  for  tour 

negotiators.     The  king  consented  without  a  single  objection^ 

Never  had  parliament  been  less  inclined  for  peace,     une 

hundred  and  thirty  members  had  just  entered  the  house  ot 

commons,  in  place  of  those  who  had  left  it  to  ^o\\oj  the  king . 

Long  postponed,  first  from  caution,  then  from  the  difficulty  ot 

its  execution,  afterwards  by  design,  this  measure  had  at    ast 

been  adopted  at  the  demand  of  the  independents,  eager  to  taKe 

•  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  89.         t  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  390  ;  Whitelocke,  167. 

X  Clarendon,  ii.,  1062.       „    ,    __.  ^     ...       .^«       rpi,-  ^.pasaffe  was 
§  Clarendon,  ii.,  1116;   Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  405.     The  message  was 

dated  5th  of  December,  1645. 


advantage  of  their  successes  on  the  field  of  battle  to  strengthen 
their  party  at  Westminster.*     They  set  every  engine  to  work 
to  carry  the  new  elections,  appointing  them  separately  one 
after  another,   even    having  them  delayed  or  put   forward 
according  to  the   chances   in   their   favor ;    employing   both 
deceit  and  violence,  as  is  the  wont  of  conquerors  still   in  a 
minority.     Several  men,  soon  afterwards  famous  in  the  party 
now  entered    parliament— Fairfax,    Ludlow,   Ireton,   Blake! 
Sidney,  Hutchinson,  Fleetwood.     Still  the  elections  had  not 
everywhere  th  esame  result :  many  counties  sent  to  Westmin 
Gter  men,  who,  though  opposed  to  the  court,  were  strangers  to 
taction,  and  friends  to  legal  order  and  peace.     But  they  were 
without  experience,  without  combination,  without  leaders,  and 
little  disposed  to  rally  round  their  old  presbyterian  chiefs,  who 
had   most  of  them   at  all  events,  lost  their  reputation  respec- 
tively of  uprightness,  or  energy,  or  ability.     They  made  little 
sensation,  exercised  little  influence  ;  and  the  first  effect  of  this 
filling  up  of  the  house  was  to  give  to  the  independents  greater 
daring  and  power.f     The  acts  of  parliament  thenceforward 
assumed  a  sterner  character.     It  has  been  ascertained  that 
during  their  stay  in  London,  the  king's  commissioners  were 
intriguing  to  form  plots  and  stir  up  the  people  ;  it  was  decided 
(Aug.  11. )f  that  no  more  commissioners  should  be  received 
that  there   should   be   no  more   negotiations,  that  the  house 
should  draw  up  their  proposals  in  the  form  of  bills,  and  that 
the  king  should  be  called  upon  simply  to  adopt  or  reject  them, 
as  If  he  were  at  Whitehall  and  proceeding  according  to  the 
regular  practice.     The  prince  of  Wales  (Sept.  20)&  offered 
to  mediate  between  the  king  and  the   people,   and  Fairfax 
transmitted  his  letter  to  the  house  ;  "  Thinking  it  a  duty,"  he 

thl  l\^^  "?"  *^^  ^^^^  ""^  September,  1644,  that  it  was  first  proposed  in 
the  house  of  commons  to  fill  up  the  vacant  places.  The  proposal  had 
frnm  .k^k'^^  August,  1645.  On  the  21st  of  that  month,  upon  a  petition 
tCp  th.^fi '"^  r  ?!  Southwark,  the  house  voted,  by  a  majority  of  only 
three  that  five  of  the  absent  members  should  be  replaced  :  namely  the 
n.nH /"'.  Southwark,  Bury  St  Edmund's,  and  Hythe.    Tne  hun! 

of  164?     n„r'f  ^rf  ""TJ" -^'^  "^^'^  ^^^^^^^  ^"  *^^  fi^^  l^t  months 
rwi      r^^^^  fifty-eight  signatures  to  the  order  for  the  execution  of 
1  fi/«   .1    *  seventeen  were  those  of  members  elected  at  this  epoch.     In 
lb46  there  were  eighty-nine  new  elections. -Journals,  Commons. 
P(^sim  ^^^^^'•S'  42;    Lndlow,  passim;   Whitelocke,  166,  and 

i  Pari.  Higt,  iii.,  390.  §  n,.,  292. 


n 


814 


histoeY  of  the 


ENGLISH  REVOLUTION. 


315 


said,  "  not  to  hinder  the  hopeful  blossom  of  your  young  peace- 
maker."    He  did  not  even  receive  an  answer.     The  term  of 
Cromwell's  command  was  nearly  expired  ;  it  was  prolonged 
another  four  months  without  any  reason  being  assigned  (Aug. 
12)  *      The  rigor  against  the  royalists  redoubled :    a  late 
ordinance  had  granted  to  the  wives  and  children  of  delinquents 
one-fifth  of  the  revenue  of  sequestered  estates  ;  it  was  repealed 
(Sept  8).t     Another  act,  for  a  long  time  resisted  by  the  lords, 
directed  the  sale  of  a  considerable  portion  of  the  possessions 
of  bishops  and  delinquents  (Sept.  13).$     In  the  camp,  in  the 
warfare,  the  same  revolution  took  place.     It  was  forbidden  to 
give  any  quarter  to  the  Irish  taken  in  England  bearing  arms 
(Oct    24)  ;§   they  were  shot  by  hundreds,||  or  tied  back  to 
back,  and  thrown  into  the  sea.     Even  among  the  English, 
there  was  no  longer  exhibited  that  mutual^rbearance    and 
courtesy  which  characterized  the  first  campaigns,  revealing, 
in  the  two  parties,  a  condition  well  nigh  equal,  the  same 
education  and  manners,  the  habit  and  desire  of  peace,  even 
amidst  war.     In  the  parliamentarian  ranks,  Fairfax   almost 
alone  retained  this  refined  humanity  ;  round  him,  officers  and 
soldiers,  brave  and  skiUul^arvenu^,  but  of  rough  manners,  or 
fanatics  of  a  dark  and  violent  temperament,   who  had  no 
chouffht  but  of  victory,  no  idea  of  the  cavaliers  but  as  enemies 
to  be  got  rid  of.     The  cavaliers,  on  their  side,  irritated  at 
being  defeated  by  such  vulgar  antagonists,  sought  consolation 
or  revenge  in  ridicule,  epigrams,  and  songs,  daily  more  and 
more  insulting.lT      Thus  the  war  assumed  a  stern,  at  times 
even  a  cruel  character,  as  between  men  whose  only  teeling 
ivas  mutual  scorn  and  hate.     At  the  same  time,  the  misunder- 
standing,  hitherto  kept  in  check,  between  the  Scots  and  the 
parliament,  broke  out  unrestrainedly  ;  the  former  complained 

•  Pari.  Hist. ,  iii. ,  590.  ^  t  R"^^^'^''*^.  V.»  \  ^09 

I  Pari  Hist.,  iii.,  391 ;  Whitelocke,  172.      §  Rushworth,  n.,  3,  /S3. 

II  Baillie,  Letters,  ii.,  164;  Rushworth,  4,  231. 

f  The  most  remarkable  of  these  songs  are  those  which  were  com- 
Dosed  against  David  Lesley  and  his  Scots,  when  he  left  the  siege  ot 
hereforl  to  go  to  the  assistance  of  Scotland,  almost  entirely  subjugated 
by  Montrose%hom  he  defeated  on  the  13th  of  September,  1645,  at  the 
battle  of  Philiphaugh.  No  defeat  had  yet  snatched  from  the  caval  ers 
8uch  brilliant  hopes,  and  their  anger  vented  itself  with  energy,  i n  a 
vein  of  poetical  animation  which  was  then  very  extraordinary,  i-or 
one  of  the  most  spirited  of  these  songs,  see  Appendix  No.  AlV. 


that  their  army  was  not  paid ;  the  latter,  that  an  army  of 
allies  should  pillage  and  devastate,  as  though  they  w^re  a 
hostile  force,  the  counties  which  they  occupied.*  In  everv 
quarter,  m  short,  excitement  more  ardent  than  ever,  hatred 
more  profound  measures  harsher  and  more  decisive,  leftbut 
ht  le  chance  of  peace  being  allowed  to  put  a  stop  to  or  even 
a  truce  to  suspend  the  already  so  rapid  course  of  eveAts' 

Ihe  king  s  overtures  were  rejected,  and  a  safe-conduct  de- 
nied  to  his  negotiators.     He  urged  the  point  by  two  othe; 
messages  still  without  success  ;  }%  was  toW  that  fhlpasUn' 
ngues  of  his  courtiers  in  the  city  rendered  it  impossible   hey 
should  be  allowed  to  return  there  (Dec.  26).+   He  offered  him 
self  to  come  to  Westminster  to  treat  in  person  with  the  pari^^^ 
ment  (Dec.  26  and  30)4  notwithstandin^g  the  entreat'LTth; 
fja?i3U%T'^  met  with  as  ill  a  reception  as  the  others 
^Jan.  IS).<^     He  renewed  his  entreaties  (Jan.  15)  II  less  from 
any  hope  of  success,  than  to  discredit  the  parliamUrin  th^ 
opinion  of  the  people  who  wished  for  peacl     fiThi    ene! 
mies  had  lately  acquired  a  still  surer  means  of  discredit^ 
the  kmg  himself;  they  solemnly  proclaimed  that  they  at  lasf 

c7uTed  witL  thP^r 'h''  f  '"P^^^^'   ^^^^  ^^  hadTust  con 
eluded  with  the  Irish,  not  merely  a  suspension  of  arms,  but 

a  treaty  of  alliance  ;  that  ten  thousand  of  these  rebels?under 
aesterth  tl'''  ''''  f  Glamorgan,  were  soon  to  land  at 

abdi  fnn'nf  ^K  ^  ^"f1  ""^  '^''  ^^^"^  ^'^  ^^«  ^he  complete 
Milan  of  the  penal  laws  against  the  catholics,  full  liberty 
for  their  worship,  the  acknowledgment  of  their  right  to  the 
churches  and  lands  which  they  had  taken  possessfon  of  •  i^ 
0  tlTnf/'?  '^^TP'  ^^P-P-^  in  Ireland  and  the  ruS 
reladn/ to  f  r.   /  'T  "^*  '^^  '^^"^^»  ^"^  '^^^'^^  letters 

b^hon^nf  T  ^  ^^^^  u^"""^  '"^  '^^  ^^^"^g^  ^^  the  arch- 

bishop  of  Tuam,  one  of  the  rebel  leaders  killed  by  chance  in 

a  skirmish  under  the  walls  of  Sligo  (Oct.  17,  1645)  The 
comnnttee  of  the  two  kingdoms,  IhoSbr  three  months  lad 
now  afrf ^h      T  f""''  '"'  r '^'^^  ^°'  '^'"^  important  occasion, 

th7m':^1>fpT^^^^^^^^  "^^^^  '^'^'^'^'y  -<^-^ 

The  king  was  utterly  disconcerted ;  the  facts  were  real ; 

ilfK^^;]?'®*-*"i-'^^^»  394,  398,405.      t  lb.,  414      lib    415—417 
§Ib.,  418-421.     11  lb.,  421.  ^  lb.,  428  ;  Rushworth,  i.  4,  238f;7leJ: 


316 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


nay,  parliament  did  not  know  all.  For  nearly  two  years,* 
Charles  had  been  carrying  on  this  negotiation  in  person,  un- 
known to  his  party,  his  council,  even  making  some  points  a 
secret  from  the  marquis  of  Ormond,  his  lieutenant  in  Ireland, 
though  he  did  not  doubt  his  zeal,  and  could  not  stir  without  his 
assistance ;  a  Roman  catholic,  lord  Herbert,  eldest  son  of  the 
marquis  of  Worcester,  and  himself  recently  created  earl  of 
Glamorgan,  alone  possessed,  in  this  affair,  the  king's  entire 
confidence.  Brave,  generous,  reckless,  passionately  devoted 
to  his  master  in  peril  and  to  his  religion  oppressed,  it  was 
Glamorgan  who  went  backwards  and  forwards  incessantly 
between  England  and  Ireland,  or  between  Dublin  and  Kil- 
kenny, undertaking  what  Ormond  refused  to  do,  and  alone 
knowing  how  far  the  king's  concessions  would  extend .  It  was  he 
who  conducted  the  correspondence  of  Charles  with  Rinuccini, 
the  pope's  nuncio,  who  had  lately  arrived  in  Ireland  (Oct.  22, 
1645),  and  with  the  pope  himself.  In  short,  the  king  had 
formally  authorized  him,  by  an  act  signed  with  his  own  hand 
(dated  March  12,  1645),  and  known  to  themselves  alone,  to 
grant  the  Irish  all  he  should  judge  necessary  to  obtain  from 
them  efficacious  help,  undertaking  to  approve  all,  to  ratify  all, 
however  illegal  the  concessions  might  be,  desiring  only  that 
nothing  should  transpire  till  the  day  when  he  could  with  effect 
avow  the  whole.  The  treaty  had  been  concluded  the  precedmg 
20th  of  August,  and  Glamorgan,  who  was  still  in  Ireland,  ear- 
nestly  pressed  forward  its  execution.  This  was  the  secret  of 
those  frequent  visits,  those  long  sojourns  of  the  king  at  Ragland 
castle,  the  residence  of  the  marquis  of  Worcester,  and  of  those 
mysterious  hopes  which  he  sometimes  gave  half-utterance  to 
amidst  his  reverses.f 

They  heard  almost  at  the  same  time,  at  Oxford  and  at 
Dublin,  that  the  treaty  was  known  in  London.  Ormond  at 
once  comprehended  how  severe  a  blow  it  would  inflict  upon 
the  king's  cause  with  his  own  party.  Whether  he  hmiself^ 
was,  as  he  affirmed,  really  ignorant  that  Charles  had  authorized 

•  The  first  commission  of  the  king  to  Glamorgan  was  dated  April  1, 

1644 

t  Mr  Lingard  has  collected,  and  clearly  stated,  all  the  facte  con- 
nected with  this  negotiation,  of  which  he  possesses  the  principal 
original  documents.—History  of  England,  1825,  Vk,  537—541, 
655—664. 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


817 


such  concessions,  or  whether,  rather,  he  wished  to  give  him 
an  opportunity  of  disavowing  them,  he  instantly  caused  Gla- 
morgan to  be  arrested  (Jan.  4,  1646),  as  having  exceeded  his 
powers,  and  seriously  compromised  the  king,  by  granting  to 
the  rebels  what  all  the  laws  denied  them.     Steadfast  in  his 
devotion,   Glamorgan   remained  silent,   did  not  produce  the 
secret  instructions  signed  *' Charles,"  which  he  had  in  his 
possession,  and  even  said  that  the  king  was  not  bound  to  ratify 
what  he  had  thought  fit  to  promise  in  his  name.     Charles, 
on  his  side,  hastened  to  disown  him,  in  a  proclamation  he 
addressed  to  parliament  (Jan.  21),*  and  in  his  official  letters 
to  the  council  in  Dublin  (Jan.   31).f      According  to  him, 
Glamorgan  had  no  other  commission  than  to  raise  soldiers  and 
second  the  efforts  of  the  lord-lieutenant ;  but,  on  both  sides, 
falsehood  was  now  merely  an  old  and   useless  habit  ;    none, 
not  even  the  people,  were  any  longer  deceived  by  it.     In  a 
few  days  (Feb.    1),  Glamorgan  was   released,  and  resumed 
his  negotiations  for  the  transmission,  on  the  same  terms  as 
before,  of  an  Irish  army  into  England.     The  parliament  voted 
that  the  king's  justification  was  not  sufficient  (Jan.   31).^: 
Cromwell,  for  the  last  time,  was  continued  in  his  command 
(Jan.  27),§  and  Charles  found  himself  obliged   to  seek  once 
more  his  preservation  in  war,  as  though   he  were  able  to 
carry  it  on. 

Only  two  bodies  of  troops  remained  to  him :  one  in  Cornwall, 
under  the  command  of  lord  Hopton ;  the  other  on  the  frontiers 
of  Wales,  under  lord  Astley .  Towards  the  middle  of  January, 
the  prince  of  Wales,  still  governor  of  the  west,  but  forsaken 
by  his  late  generals  Goring  and  Greenville,  had  sent  for  lord 
Hopton,  who  had  formerly  for  a  long  time  commanded  in  that 
quarter,  to  conjure  him  to  resume  the  command  of  what  ret 
mained  of  the  army.  "  My  lord,"  answered  Hopton,  "  it  is 
now  a  custom,  when  men  are  not  willing  to  submit  to  what 
they  are  enjoined,  to  say  that  it  is  against  their  honor  ;  that 
their  honor  will  not  suffer  them  to  do  this  or  that;  for  my  part, 
I  cannot  at  this  time  obey  your  highness  without  resolving  to 
lose  my  honor ;  but  since  your  highness  has  thought  fit  to 
command  me,  I  am  ready  to  obey,  even  with  the  loss  of  my 
honor  ;"  and  he  took  the  command  of  seven  or  eight  thousand 


*Parl.  Hist.,  iii.,  435. 
t  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  438. 

21* 


t  Carte's  Life  of  Ormond,  iii.,  445—447. 
§  lb.,  428. 


318 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


819 


men  *  But  he  was  soon  as  odious  to  them  as  their  excesses 
were  to  him ;  even  the  really  brave  among  them  could  not 
endure  his  discipline  and  vigilance,  accustomed  as  they  had 
been  under  Goring,  to  a  less  troublesome  and  more  profitable 
warfare.  Fairfax,  still  occupied  in  subduing  the  west,  marched 
before  long  against  them  ;  and  on  the  16th  of  February,  Hop. 
ton  underwent,  at  Torrington,  on  the  borders  of  Cornwall,  a 
defeat  rather  disastrous  than  bloody.  He  vamly  endeavored, 
as  he  retired  from  town  to  town,  to  recruit  his  party  ;  he  was 
destitute  alike  of  officers  and  of  soldiers :  »  From  the  hour  I 
undertook  this  charge,"  said  he,  -to  the  hour  of  their  dissolving, 
scarce  a  party  or  a  guard  appeared  with  half  the  number  ap- 
pointed,  or  within  two  hours  of  the  time."t  F/^rJax  every 
day  pressed  more  closely  upon  him.  At  the  head  of  the  small 
corps  which  still  remained  faithful,  Hopton  soon  found  himself 
driven  to  the  Land's-end.  At  Truro,  he  was  informed  that, 
weary  of  the  war,  the  people  of  the  country  meditated  putting 
an  end  to  it  by  seizing  the  prince  of  Wales,  and  givmg  him 
up  to  parliament.  The  necessity  had  arrived;  the  prmce 
embarked,  with  his  council,  but  only  to  retire  to  SciUy,  on 
English  land,  almost  in  sight  of  the  coast.  Relieved  from  this 
anxiety,  Hopton  wished  to  try  the  effect  of  another  battle  ;  but 
his  troops  loudly  called  upon  him  to  capitulate.  Fairfax  ot- 
fered  him  honorable  conditions— he  still  evaded  them  :  his 
officers  declared  that  if  he  did  not  consent,  they  would  treat 
without  him.  "  Treat,  then,"  said  he,  "  but  not  for  me  ; 
and  neither  he  nor  lord  Capel  would  be  included  m  the 
capitulation.  The  articles  signed  and  the  army  broken  up, 
these  noblemen  embarked  to  join  the  prince  at  Scilly  ;  and 
the  king  now  possessed  in  the  west  only  a  few  insignificant 

^^Lo^'^Aitley  met  with  no  better  fortune  :  he  was  at  Wor- 
cester  with  three  thousand  men  ;  the  king  ordered  him  to  jom 
him  at  Oxford,  and  set  out  himself  with  fifleen  hundred  horse 
to  meet  him.  He  wished  to  assemble  round  him  a  sufficient 
corps  to  wait  for  the  succors  from  Ireland,  which  he  sUll  ex- 

•  -  Fellows,"  observes  Clarendon,  «  whom  only  their  ^^j^^^l/l^'J^^f^ 
and  their  enemies  laughed  at,  being  only  terrible  in  plunder  and  reso- 
lute  in  running  away."— Clarendon,  u.,  1089. 

t  Clarendon,  ii.,  1097.  ,,     •    >.   oq_i  i  -; 

X  Clarendon,  ii.,  X102;  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  99—115. 


pected  ;  but  before  they  met  (March  22),  sir  William  Brereton 
and  colonel  Morgan,  at  the  head  of  a  body  of  parliamentarians, 
overtook  Astley,  whose  movements  they  had  been  watching 
for  the  last  month,  at  Stow,  in  Gloucestershire.  The  defeat 
of  the  cavaliers  was  complete ;  eighteen  hundred  of  them  were 
killed  or  taken  ;  the  others  dispersed.  Astley  himself,  after 
a  desperate  resistance,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy  ;  he 
was  old,  fatigued  by  the  conflict,  and  walked  with  difficulty; 
the  soldiers,  touched  by  his  grey  hairs  and  his  courage, 
brought  him  a  drum  to  rest  upon  :  he  sat  down  upon  it,  and, 
addressing  Brereton's  officers :  "  Gentlemen,"  said  he,  "  you 
have  done  your  work,  and  may  now  go  to  play,  unless  you 
prefer  to  fall  out  among  yourselves."* 

This,  indeed,  was  the  only  hope  Charles  himself  had  left ; 
he  hastened  to  try  and  promote  it.     Already,  at  the  very  time 
he  was  loading  some  of  the  presbyterian  leaders  with  com- 
promising attentions,  he  had  long  kept  up  a  secret  correspon- 
dence with  the  independents,  particularly  with  Vane,  not  less 
active  in  intrigue  than  passionate  in  enthusiasm.     Just  before 
the  affair  at  Stow,  the  secretary  of  state  Nicholas  had  written 
(March  2)  to  Vane,  soliciting  him  to  contrive  ihit  the  king 
might  be  enabled  to  come  to  London  and  treat  in  person  with 
the  parliament,  promising  that  if  it  required  the  triumph  of 
presbyterian  discipline,  the  royalists  would  combine  with  the 
independents  "  to  extirpate  from  the  kingdom  this  tyrannical 
domination,    and  secure   each  other's  liberty. "f      It  is  not 
known  what  reply  Vane  sent  to  this  letter ;  but  after  Astley's 
defeat  the  king  himself  wrote  to  him :  "  Be  very  confident," 
he  said,  "  that  all  things  shall  be  performed  according  to  my 
promise.     By  all  that  is  good,  I  conjure  you  to  dispatch  that 
courtesy  for  me  with  all  speed,  or  it  will  be  too  late ;  I  shall 
perish  before  I  receive  the  fruits  of  it.     I  may  not  tell  you 
my  necessities  ;  but  if  it  were  necessary  so  to  do,  I  am  sure 
you  would  lay  all  other  considerations  aside  and  fulfil  my 
desires.     This  is  all ;  trust  me,  I  will  repay  the  favor  to  the 
full.     I  have  done ;  if  I  have  no  answer  within  four  days 
after  the  receipt  of  this,  I  shall  be  necessitated  to  find  some 
other   expedient.     God  direct   you !     I  have  discharged  my 
duty. "J     At  the  same  time,  he  addressed  a  message  to  par- 

*  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  139 — 141.       t  Evelyn,  Memoirs,  ii.,  App.,  115 
{  Evelyn,  ii.,  App.,  116  ;  Clarendon,  State  Papers  (1773),  ii.,  227. 


/ 


\ 


820 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH  REVOLUTION. 


321 


liament,  offering  to  disband  all  his  troops,   to  open  all  his  gar- 
risons, and  to  come  and  resume  his  residence  at  Whitehall 

(March  23).*  ^  •  ..'  •.•      r 

At  this  proposal,  and  on  the  report  that,  without  waiting  for 
an  answer,  the  king  was  likely  to  arrive,  the  greatest  alarm 
prevailed  in  Westminster ;  politicians  or  fanatics,  presbyte- 
rians  or  independents,  all  knew  that,  the  king  once  at  White- 
hall,  it  would  no  longer  be  against  him  that  the  riots  of  the 
city  would  be  directed ;  all  were  alike  resolved  not  to  subject 
themselves  to  his  mercy.  They  at  once  took,  to  avert  so 
great  a  danger,  the  most  violent  measures ;  it  was  forbidden 
to  receive  the  king,  or  to  go  near  him  if  he  came  to  London, 
or  to  give  to  anv  one  whatever  the  means  of  approaching  him. 
The  committee*^of  the  militia  received  orders  to  prevent  any 
public  meeting,  to  arrest  any  one  that  should  come  with  the 
king,  to  prevent  the  people  from  flocking  to  meet  him ;  even, 
if  necessary,  to  secure  his  own  person  "  from  all  danger,"  as 
they  put  it.  Papists,  delinquents,  cashiered  officers,  soldiers 
of  fortune,  whoever  had  taken  any  part  against  parliament, 
received  orders  to  quit  London  within  three  days  (March  31 

April  3).t      Ultimately  a  court-martial   was   established 

(April  3)4  and  the  punishment  of  death  decreed  against  any 
person  who  should  hold  direct  or  indirect  intercourse  with  the 
king,  or  who  should  come  without  a  pass  from  any  camp  or 
town  occupied  by  the  king,  or  who  should  receive  or  conceal 
any  man  who  had  carried  arms  against  the  parliament,  or 
who  should  wilfully  allow  a  prisoner  of  war  to  escape,  &c. 
Never  had  act  of  the  parliament  borne  the  impress  of  such 

terror. 

Vane,  on  his  part,  left  the  king's  letter  without  answer,  or 

at  least  without  effect. 

Meantime,  Fairfax's  troops  were  advancing  by  forced 
marches  to  besiege  Oxford.  Already  colonel  Rainsborough  s 
and  two  other  regiments  were  encamped  in  sight  of  the  place. 
The  king  offered  to  give  himself  up  to  Rainsborough  if  he 
would  pledge  his  word  to  conduct  him  immediately  to  parlia- 
ment.  Rainsborough  refused.  In  a  few  days,  the  blockade 
could  not  fail  to  be  complete,  and,  whatever  its  duration,  the 

•  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  451.  t  lb.,  452—453  ;  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  249. 

X  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  252. 


result  was  infallible  ;  the  king  must  fall  as  a  prisoner  of  war 
into  the  hands  of  his  enemies. 

One  only  refuge  remained  possible,  the  Scottish  camp.  For 
the  last  two  months,  M.  de  Montreuil,  the  French  minister, 
touched  by  Charles's  distress,  rather  than  to  obey  the  instruc- 
tions of  Mazarin,  had  been  endeavoring  to  secure  for  him  this 
last  asylum.  Rebuffed  in  the  first  instance  by  the  Scottish 
commissioners  residing  in  London,  convinced  by  a  journey 
to  Edinburgh  that  there  was  nothing  to  hope  from^he  Scottish 
parliament,  he  at  last  addressed  himself  to  some  of  the 
leaders  of  the  army  besieging  Newark  ;  and  their  disposition 
had  appeared  to  him  so  favorable,  that  he  thought  himself 
warranted  in  promising  the  king  (April  1),  in  the  name  and 
under  the  guarantee  of  the  king  of  France,  that  the  Scots 
would  receive  him  as  their  legitimate  sovereign,  would  shel- 
ter him  and  his  from  all  danger,  and  would  even  co-operate 
with  him  to  the  utmost  of  their  power  in  the  re-establishment 
of  peace.  But  the  hesitations  and  retractations  of  the  Scot- 
tish officers,  who  were  willing  to  save  the  king,  but  not  to 
quarrel  with  the  parliament,  soon  showed  Montreuil  that  he 
had  gone  too  far,  and  he  hastened  to  send  word  of  his  error  to 
Oxford.  But  necessity,  daily  more  urgent,  rendered  Charles 
and  Montreuil  himself  less  scrupulous;  the  queen,  who  from 
Paris  maintained  a  correspondence  with  the  agents  in  the 
Scottish  army,  exhorted  her  husband  to  trust  to  it.  In  later 
conferences,  the  officers  made  some  promises  to  Montreuil. 
He  informed  the  king  of  them,  repeating,  however,  that  the 
step  was  hazardous,  and  any  other  refuge  preferable;  but 
adding,  that  if  he  could  find  no  other  asylum,  he  would  find, 
for  his  person,  at  least,  full  safety  among  the  Scots.* 

At  all  events,  Charles  could  wait  no  longer  where  he  was ; 
Fairfax  had  already  reached  Newbury,  and  the  blockade 
would  within  three  days  be  complete.  On  the  27th  of  April, 
at  midnight,  followed  only  by  Ashbumham  and  an  ecclesias- 
tic (Dr.  Hudson),  who  was  well  acquainted  with  the  roads, 
the  king  left  Oxford  on  horseback,  disguised  as  Ashbum- 
ham's  servant,  with  their  common  portmanteau  behind  him ; 
and,  at  the  same  time,  to  mislead  all  watchers,  three  men 
went  out  at  each  gate  of  the  town.     The  king  took  the  road  to 

*  In  his  letters  of  the  15th,  16th,  and  20th  April;  Clarendon,  State 
Papers,  ii.,  211—216. 


332 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


823 


London.  On  arriving  at  Harrow  Hill,  in  sight  of  his  capital, 
he  stopped  for  awhile,  and  anxiously  deliberated,  whether  he 
should  go  to  London,  re-enter  Whitehall,  appear  all  at  once 
in  the  city,  where  men's  thoughts  had  for  some  time  past 
been  disposed  favorably  towards  him.  But  nothing  less  suit- 
ed  him  than  any  singular  or  daring  resolution,  for  he  vi^as 
deficient  in  presence  of  mind,  and,  above  all  things,  dreaded 
any  chance  of  compromising  his  royal  dignity.  After  a  few 
hours'  hesitation,  he  turned  from  London  and  proceeded 
towards  the  north,  but  slowly,  almost  at  random,  as  a  man 
still  yet  undetermined.  Montreuil  had  promised  to  come  and 
meet  him  at  Harborough,  in  Leicestershire,  but  he  was  not 
there.  The  king,  uneasy  at  this,  sent  Hudson  to  seek  him, 
and  turned  towards  the  eastern  counties,  wandering  from  town 
to  town,  from  castle  to  castle,  especially  along  the  coast,  con- 
tinually changing  his  disguise ;  and  inquiring  every  where  for 
news  of  Montrose,  whom  he  earnestly  desired  to  join,  liut 
this,  also,  was  too  tedious  and  troublesome  an  enterprise  for 
him'.  Hudson  returned  ;  no  change  had  taken  place :  Mon- 
treuil  still  promised,  if  not  an  agreeable,  at  least  a  safe  retreat 
in  the  Scottish  camp.  Charles  at  last  made  up  his  mmd,  as 
much  from  weariness  as  choice  ;  and  on  the  5th  of  May,  nine 
days  after  his  departure  from  Oxford,  Montreuil  introduced 
him  early  in  the  morning  into  Kelham,  the  head-quarters  of 

the  Scots.*  1  1  .      /E  c 

On  seeing  the  king,  the  earl  of  Leven  and  his  officers  at- 
fected  extreme  surprise ;  information  of  his  arrival  was  im- 
mediately  given  to  the  parliamentary  commissioners  ;  expresses 
were  dispatched  to  announce  it  in  Edinburgh  and  London. 
Officers  and  soldiers  treated  the  king  with  profound  respect ; 
but,  in  the  evening,  under  the  pretext  of  rendering  him  due 
honor,  a  strong  guard  was  placed  at  his  door ;  and  when,  to 
discover  what  was  his  situation,  he  attempted  to  give  out  the 
watchword  for  the  night,  "  Pardon  me,  sire,"  said  Leven,  "  1 
am  the  oldest  soldier  here ;  your  majesty  will  permit  me  to 
undertake  that  duty."t 

•  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  267  ;  Clarendon,  State  Papers,  ii.,  288. 
t  Malcolm  Laing,  Hist,  of  Scotland  iii.,  352,  note  7. 


BOOK  THE  SEVENTH. 
1646—1647. 

Anxiety  and  intrigues  of  the  independents— The  king's  stay  at  Newcas- 
tle—He  rejects  the  proposals  of  parliament— The  parliament  nego- 
tiates With  the  Scots,  to  induce  them  to  give  up  the  king  and  retire 
from  the  kingdom— They  consent— The  king  is  conducted  to  Holmby 
—Discord  breaks  out  between  the  parliament  and  the  army— Con- 
duct of  Cromwell— He  causes  the  king  to  be  taken  from  Holmby— 
The  arrny  marches  upon  London,  and  impeaches  eleven  presbyteri- 
an  leaders— They  retire  from  parliament— Stay  of  the  king  at 
Hampton  Court— Negotiations  of  the  army  with  him— Rising  in 
the  city  m  favor  of  peace— A  great  many  members  of  both  houses 
retire  to  the  army- They  are  brought  by  the  army  back  to  London- 
Defeat  of  the  presbytenans- Republicans  and  levellers— Cromwell 
becomes  suspected  by  the  soldiers— They  mutiny  against  the  officers 
— Cromweirs  able  conduct— Alarm  of  the  king— He  escapes  to  the 
Isle  of  Wight.  ^ 

It  was  known  in  London  (May  2)  that  the  king  had  left  Ox- 
ford,  but  nothing  indicated  where  he  was  or  whither  he  was 
gomg.  There  was  a  report  that  he  was  concealed  in  the  city, 
and  whoever  should  receive  him  was  again  menaced  with 
death  without  mercy.  Fairfax  sent  word  that  he  had  pro- 
ceeded  towards  the  east,  and  two  officers  of  assured  devotion, 
colonels  Russel  and  Wharton,  were  immediately  despatched 
m  that  direction,  with  orders  to  seek  him  everywhere,  and  at 
any  rate.*  Parliamentarians  and  royalists,  both  plunged  into 
the  same  uncertainty,  bore  with  equal  patience,  the  former 
their  fears,  the  latter  their  hopes. 

On  the  evening  of  the  6th  of  May,  the  news  at  length  ar- 
rived that  the  king  was  in  the  Scottish  camp.  Next  day  the 
commons  voted  that  parliament  alone  had  the  right  to  dispose 
of  his  person,  and  that  he  should  be  conducted  without  delay 
to  Warwick  castle.  The  lords  refused  to  sanction  this  vote  ; 
but  they  approved  of  Poyntz,  who  was  quartered  near  New- 

•  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  267  ;  Whitelocke,  203. 


824 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


ENGLISH  REVOLUTION. 


325 


w 


ark,  receiving  orders  to  watch  the  movements  of  the  Scottish 
army  ;  and  Fairfax  was  directed  to  hold  himself  ready  to 
march  in  case  of  need.* 

The  Scots,  on  their  part,  desirous  of  getting  away,  obtained 
an  order  from  the  king,  on  the  very  day  of  his  arrival,  for 
lord  Bellasis,  the  governor  of  Newark,  to  open  its  gates  to 
them  ;  they  gave  up  the  town  to  Poyntz,  and  a  few  hours 
afterwards,  placing  the  king  in  their  advanced  guard,  marched 
towards  Newcastle,  on  the  frontiers  of  their  own  country.f 

The  independents  were  full  of  anxiety  and  anger.  For  a 
year  past  everything  had  prospered  with  them  ;  masters  of 
the  army,  they  had  been  everywhere  conquerors,  and  had 
made,  by  their  victories,  a  deep  impression  on  the  imagina- 
tion of  the  people  ;  under  their  banners,  ranged  themselves  all 
the  bold  spirits  of  the  time,  the  men  of  energetic,  ambitious, 
exalted  hopes,  whoever  had  his  fortune  to  make,  or  had  formed' 
rash  wishes,  or  meditated  some  great  design.  Genius  itself 
could  only  find  a  place  and  liberty  among  them.  MHIon,  still 
young,  but  already  remarkable  for  the  elegance  and  extent  of 
his  knowledge,  had  just  claimed,  in  nobler  language  than  had 
yet  been  heard,  liberty  of  conscience,  liberty  of  the  press,  the 
right  of  divorce  ;X  ^^^  ^^^  presbyterian  clergy,  incensed  at 
his  boldness,  having  without  effect  reported  him  to  parliament, 
placed  among  its  sins  the  toleration  of  such  writings.  Ano- 
ther extraordinary  man,  already  known  by  his  passionate  re- 
sistance to  tyranny,  John  Lilburne,  was  beginning  his  indefa- 
tigable  war  against  lords,  judges,  lawyers  ;  and  already  the 
most  loud-tongued  popularity  was  attached  to  his  name.  The 
number  and  confidence  of  the  dissenting  congregations, §  all 
allied  with  the  independents,  daily  increased  ;  it  was  in  vain 
that  the  presbyterians  had,  at  length,  obtained  from  parliament 

•  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  465,  466.     t  lb.,  467  ;  Rushworth,  i.,  4, 269—271. 

X  In  five  pamphlets,  against  episcopal  government  and  on  the  reform 
of  the  church,  published  in  1641  and  1642  ;  in  a  pamphlet  entitled, 
«*  The  Doctrine  and  discipline  of  Divorce,"  published  in  1644  ;  and  in  a 
pamphlet  entitled,  "  Speech  for  the  Liberty  of  Unlicensed  Printing," 
published  also  in  1644. 

^  The  number  of  anabaptist  meetings,  for  instance,  was  already  fifty- 
four  in  1644.  Thomas  Edwards,  a  presbyteriam  minister,  published 
in  1645,  under  the  title  of  ♦*  Gangraena,"  a  catalogue  of  those  sects,  to 
call  down  the  rigor  of  parliament  upon  them  ;  he  reckoned  sixteen 
principal  ones,  and  had  omitted  several. — Neal,  iii.,  310. 


the  exclusive  and  official  establishment  of  their  church  •*  with 
the  aid  of  the  lawyers  and  freethinkers,  the  independents  had 
succeeded  in  maintaining  the  supremacy  of  parliament  in  re- 
ligious affairs  ;t  and  the  presbyterian  measure,  thus  weaken- 
ed, was  but  slowly  executed.ij:  Meantime,  the  personal  for- 
tunes  of  the  leaders  of  the  party,  that  of  Cromwell  in  particu- 
lar, progressed  rapidly  :  when  they  came  from  the  army  to 
Westminster,  parliament  received  them  with  solemn  homage  ;§ 
when  they  returned  to  the  army,  gifts  of  money  and  land, 
gratuities  and  offices,  lavished  on  their  creatures,  attested  and 
extended  their  influence. ||  Everywhere,  in  short,  in  London 
as  in  the  counties,  and  whether  as  regarded  politics  or  reli- 
gion, interests  or  ideas,  it  was  in  favor  of  this  party  that  the 
social  movement  had  more  and  more  decidedly  pronounced 
itself.  In  the  midst  of  so  much  prosperity,  just  as  power  was 
within  their  reach,  they  found  themselves  menaced  with  the 
loss  of  all ;  for  they  would  indeed  lose  all  if  the  king  and  the 
presbyterians  allied  against  them. 

They  used  every  effort  to  ward  off  this  blow :  had  they 
been  free  to  follow  their  own  impulse,  they  would  perhaps 
have  sent  the  army  immediately  against  the  Scots,  and  taken 
the  king  by  inain  force  ;  but  notwithstanding  their  success  in 
the  new  elections,  they  were  obliged  to  act  with  more  reserve  • 
with  a  minority  in  the  upper  house,  in  the  lower  they  only 
possessed  a  precarious  ascendency,  derived  rather  from  the 
inexperience  of  the  members  recently  elected  than  from  their 
real  sentiments.  They  had  recourse  to  indirect  measures ; 
they  sought  by  all  kinds  of  means,  daring  or  crafty,  secret  or 

*  By  several  ordinances  or  votes  of  the  23d  of  August,  20th  of  Octo- 
ber, and  8th  of  November,  1645,  and  the  20th  of  February  and  14th  of 
March,  1646.— Rushworth,  i.,  4,  205,  210,  224. 

fNeal,  iii.,  231  ;  Journals,  Commons,  Sept.  25,  Oct.  10,  1645; 
March  5  and  23,  April  22,  1646 ;  Baillie,  Letters,  ii.,  194 ;  Pari.  Hist.! 
111.,  459. 

}  The  presbyterian  church  was  never  completely  established  any- 
where but  in  London  and  Lancashire. — Laing,  iii,,  347. 

§  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  463,  529. 

II  The  parliament  gave,  1,  to  Cromwell  (February  7,  1646),  landed 
property  to  the  value  of  2,500/.,  part  of  the  estates  of  the  marquis  of 
Worcester  (Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  439) ;  2,  to  Fairfax,  a  few  months  after,  an 
income  of  5000/.  (Whitelocke,  228,  239)  ;  3,  to  Sir  William  Brereton, 
in  October,  1646,  a  gratuity  of  5000/.  ;  4,  to  sir  Peter  Killigrew,  in 
December,  1646,  a  gratuity  oi  2000/.— (lb.,  228,  235,  &c.) 

29 


It  ! 


326 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


327 


open,  to  offend  the  Scots  or  irritate  the  people  against  them,  in 
the  hope  of  bringing  about  a  rupture  ;  the  Scottish  messen- 
ffers  were  stopped  and  their  despatches  intercepted,  at  the  very 
gates  of  London,  by  subalterns  against  whom  they  claimed 
justice  in  vain  (May  9)  ;*  petitions  flocked  in  against  them 
from  the  northern  counties,  relating  their  exactions,  their  ex- 
cesses,  and  the  sufferings  the  people  endured  at  their  hands.f 
Alderman  Foot  presented  one  petition,  in  the  name  of  the  city, 
in  their  favor  (May  26),$  and  requiring,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  repression  of  the  new  sectaries,  as  authors  of  the  troubles 
in  church  and  state  ;  the  lords  thanked  the  common  council, 
but  the  commons  scarcely  vouchsafed  a  brief,  dry  answer. 
The^f^  were  still  a  few  regiments  left,  the  remnant  of  Essex's 
army,  in  which  presbyterian  sentiments  prevailed  ;  among 
others,  a  brigade  quartered  in  Wiltshire,  under  the  command 
of  major-general  Massey,  the  valiant  defender  of  Gloucester  ; 
complaints  of  all  kinds  were  got  up  against  this  body,§  and 
ultimately  it  was  disbanded.  In  parliament,  in  the  newspa- 
pers,  in  all  public  places,  particularly  in  the  army,  the  inde- 
pendents only  spoke  of  the  Scots  with  insult,  now  pointing  out 
to  public  indignation  their  rapacity,  now  ridiculing  their  par- 
simony,  addressing  themselves,  by  a  clumsy  but  efl[icacious 
trick,  to  national  prejudices,  to  popular  distrust,  skilful  to  lose 
no  opportunity  of  exciting  anger  and  contempt  against  their 
enemies.  II  At  last,  the  commons  voted  that  the  Scottish 
army  was  no  longer  required,  and  that  on  a  hundred  thousand 
pounds  being  given  it  on  account,  and  a  statement  demanded 
of  what  more  was  due,  it  should  be  requested  to  return  home 
(June  ll).ir 

These  measures  had  not  the  effect  anticipated  ;  the  Scots 
showed  neither  vexation  nor  anger ;  but  their  conduct  Was 
hesitating,  which  suited  their  enemies  still  better.  The  per- 
plexity of  the  leaders  inclined  to  serve  the  king  was  extreme. 
Incurable  in  his  duplicity,  because  he  held  himself  bound  to 
no  engagement  with  rebellious  subjects,  Charles  meditated 
their  ruin  while  he  was  imploring  their  aid.  "  I  do  not 
despair,"  he  wrote  to  lord  Digby,  a  few  days  before  he  left 

♦  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  469  ;  Whitelocke,  204. 

t  Whitelocke,  207,  et  seq.  I  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  474—480. 

§  Whitelocke,  299,  et  seq  \\  Holies,  Memoirs,  45. 

f  Purl.  Hist.,  iii.,  484. 


Oxford,  "  of  inducing  the  presbyterians  or  the  independents  to 
join  with  me  in  exterminating  one  the  other ;  and  then  I  shall 
be  king  again  "  (March  26).*    On  their  side,  the  presbyterians, 
Scots  or  English,  ruled   by  their  ministers,  passionately  bent 
upon  securing  the  covenant  and  the  triumph  of  their  church, 
would  not  hear  of  any  accommodation  with,  any  assistance  to, 
the  king,  unless  at  that  price;    so  that  the  most   moderate, 
those  most  anxious  for  the  future,  could  neither  trust  in  him, 
nor  abate  with  him  any  of  their  claims.     In  this  perplexity, 
assailed  at  once  by  the  accusations  of  their  adversaries  and 
the  necessities  of  their  party,  their  words  contradicted,  their 
actions  neutralized  each  other ;  they  wished  for  peace,  pro- 
mised it  to  the  king,  were  constantly  talking  with  their  friends 
of  the  dread  they  had  of  the  independents  ;  and  yet  never  had 
their  declarations  of  zeal  for  the  covenant,  of  firm  attachment 
to  parliament,  of  inviolable  union   with   their   brethren   the 
English,  been  more  multiplied,  more  emphatic  ;f  never  had 
they  shown  themselves  so  distrustful,  so  inflexible  in  reference 
to  the  king  and  the  cavaliers.     Six  of  the  most  illustrious 
companions  of  Montrose,  taken  at  the   battle  of  Philiphaugh, 
were  condemned  and  executed;  a  severity  for  which  there 
was  no  motive  but  revenge,  and  of  which,  in  England,  the 
civil  war  had  presented  no  example.:]:     Charles,  before  quitting 
Oxford,  had  written  to  the  marquis  of  Ormond  that  he  was 
only  proceeding  to  the  Scottish  camp  on  the  strength  of  their 
promise  of  supporting  him  and  his  just  rights  if  need  were 
(April  3)  ;§  and  though  in  all  probability  their  language  had 
not  been  so  explicit  as  this,  it  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  they 
had  in  fact  given  him  reason  to  hope  for  their  support.     Or- 
mond published  the  king's  letter  (May  21)  ;  the  Scots  at  onqe 
contradicted  it,  broadly  characterizing  it  as  "  a  most  damnable 
untruth  (June  8)."||    More  rigor  than  ever  was  displayed  about 
the  king's  person ;  all  who  had  carried  arms  in  his  defence  were 
forbidden  to  approach  him  ;  his  letters  were  in  almost  every 
instance  intercepted. f     At  length,  to  give  a  signal  mark  of 
their  fidelity  to  the  cause  of  the  covenant,  the  Scottish  leaders 
called  upon  the  king  to  allow  himself*  to  be  instructed  in  the 
true  doctrine  of  Christ ;  and  Henderson,  the  most  celebrated 

•  Carte,  Life  of  Ormond,  iii.,  452.     t  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  471,  473,  488. 
X  Laing,  iii.,  334.  §  Carte,  Life  of  Ormond,  iii.,  455 

II  Pari.  Hiat.,  iii.,  480.  If  Whitelocke,  pattim. 


It    6 


328 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH  REVOLUTION. 


329 


preacher  of  the  party,  went  to  Newcastle  to  undertake  officially 
the  conversion  of  the  captive  monarch.* 

Charles  maintained  the  controversy  with  address  and  dig- 
nity, inflexible  in  his  adherence  to  the  Anglican  church,  but 
i^  arguing  without  acrimony  against  his  adversary,  who  was 
\  himself  temperate  and  respectful.  During  the  discussion,  the 
king  wrote  to  the  royalist  governors  who  still  held  out,  order- 
ing them  to  surrender  their  towns  (June  10)  ;f  to  the  parlia- 
ment,  to  hasten  the  transaction  of  their  proposals  (June  10)  -,1 
to  Ormond,  to  continue  his  negotiations  with  the  Irish,  though 
at  the  same  time  he  officially  commanded  him  to  break  them 
off;§  to  Glamorgan,  still  the  only  person  entrusted  with  his 
secret  designs,  '*  If  you  can  procure  me  a  large  surh  of  money, 
by  engaging  my  kingdoms  as  security,  I  shall  be  glad,  and  as 
soon  as  I  shall  have  recovered  possession  of  them,  I  will  fully 
repay  the  debt.  Tell  the  nuncio  that  if  I  can  by  any  means 
place  myself  in  his  and  your  hands,  I  shall  certainly  not  fail 
to  do  so,  for  I  see  that  all  the  rest  contemn  me"  (July  20). || 

The  proposals  of  parliament  at  last  arrived  (July  23) ;  the 
earls  of  Pembroke  and  Suffolk,  and  four  members  of  the  com- 
mons,  were  charged  to  present  them.  One  of  them,  Mr. 
Goodwin,  began  to  read  them ;  "  I  beg  your  pardon,"  said 
the  king,  interrupting  him,  "  have  you  any  power  to  treat  ?" 
"  No,  sir."  "  In  that  case,  but  for  the  honor  of  it,  a  good, 
honest  trumpeter,  might  have  done  as  much  as  you."  Good- 
win finished  reading  the  proposals.  "  I  imagine,"  said  the 
king,  "  you  do  not  expect  a  present  answer  from  me  in  a  busi- 
ness of  this  consequence."  "  Sir,"  replied  lord  Pembroke, 
"  we  have  orders  to  stay  no  longer  than  ten  days."  "  Very 
well,"  replied  Charles,  "  I  will  give  you  an  answer  in  proper 
time."ir 

Several  days  passed  and  the  commissioners  heard  nothing 
further.  The  king  meanwhile  read  sadly,  and  re-read,  again 
and  again,  these  proposals,  still  more  humiliating,  still  harder 
than  those  he  had  constantly  rejected.     He  was  called  upon 

*  The  controversy  began  on  the  29th  of  May,  and  lasted  till  the  16th 
of  July.  All  the  notes  which  passed  between  the  king  and  Henderson 
have  been  collected  in  "The  Works  of  King  Charles  the  Martyr" 
(1662),  155—187. 

t  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  487.       t  lb.,  486.      §  lb.,  487 ;  Lingard,  vi.,  561. 

II  Birch,  Inquiry  into  Glamorgan's  Transactions,  &c.,  245. 

II  Pari.  Hist.,  iii,,  513. 


to  adopt  the  covenant,  to  abolish  completely  the  episcopal 
church,  to  surrender  to  parliament,  for  twenty  years,  the 
command  of  the  army,  navy,  and  militia  ;  and  finally,  to  con- 
sent that  his  most  faithful  friends,  to  the  number  of  seventy- 
one,  excluded  by  name  from  any  amnesty,  that  all  his  party, 
that  whoever  had  taken  arms  for  him,  should  be  debarred 
all  public  employment  during  the  pleasure  of  parliament.* 
Yet  every  one  persuaded  him  to  accept  these  terms :  M.  de 
BelliSvre,  the  French  ambassador,  who  had  arrived  at  New- 
castle the  same  day  with  the  parliamentary  commissioners, 
counselled  him,  in  the  name  of  his  own  court,  to  do  so.f  Mon- 
treuil  brought  him  letters  from  the  queen,  ardently  urging 
compliance  ;:(:  on  the  suggestion  of  Bellievre,  she  even  dis- 
patched from  Paris  a  gentleman  of  her  household,  sir  William 
Davenant,  with  orders  to  tell  the  king  that  his  resistance  was 
disapproved  of  by  all  his  friends.  '*  What  friends  ?"  said 
Charles,  pettishly.  "  By  lord  Jermyn,  sir."  "  Jermyn  does 
not  understand  anything  about  the  church."  "Lord  Cole- 
pepper  is  of  the  same  mind."  "  Colepepper  has  no  religion  ; 
is  Hyde  of  this  mind  ?"  "  We  do  not  know,  sir  ;  the  chan- 
cellor is  not  at  Paris ;  he  has  forsaken  the  prince,  and  has 
chosen  to  remain  in  Jersey,  instead  of  accompanying  the 
prince  to  the  queen  ;  her  majesty  is  very  much  offended  by 
his  behavior."  "  The  chancellor  is  an  honest  man,  who  will 
never  forsake  me,  nor  the  prince,  nor  the  church ;  I  am  sorry 
he  is  not  with  my  son  ;  but  my  wife  is  mistaken."  Davenant 
urged  the  point  with  the  vivacity  of  a  poet  and  the  levity  of 
a  court  gallant ;  the  king  grew  angry,  and  drove  him  roughly 
from  his  presence. §  On  the  part  of  the  presbyterians,  the 
entreaties  were  no  less  urgent ;  several  towns  in  Scotland, 
Edinburgh  among  others,  addressed  amicable  petitions  to  the 
kingll  on  the  subject ;  the  city  of  London  wished  to  do  the 
same,  but  a  formal  prohibition  from  the  commons  prevented 
them. IT  At  last,  threats  were  joined  to  entreaties  ;  the  general 
assembly  of  the  church  of  Scotland  demanded  that  if  the 
king  refused  the  covenant,  he  should  not  be  permitted  to 
enter  Scotland  ;**  and  in  a  solemn  audience,  in  presence  of  the 


•  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  499—512. 
t  Whitelocke,  216. 
II  Whitelocke,  ut  sup. 
**  Clarendon,  iii.,  54. 

28* 


t  lb.,  512  ;  Clarendon,  iii.,  47. 
§  Clarendon,  iii.,  48. 
H  Ludlow,  79. 


4' 


330 


HISTORY   OP   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


331 


Scottish  commissioners,  the  chancellor,  lord  Lowden,  declared 
to  him,  that  if  he  persisted  in  his  refusal,  entrance  into  Scot- 
land would,  in  point  of  fact,  be  forbidden  him,  and  that  in 
England  it  was  very  likely  they  would  depose  him,  and  insti- 
tute  another  form  of  government.* 

The  king's  pride,  his  religious  scruples,  and  also  some  se- 
cret  hope  with  which  he  was  still  buoyed  up  by  credulous  or 
intriguing  friends,t  were  proof  against  these  presentations. 
After  having  from  day  to  day  delayed  his  answer,  he,  on  the 
1st  of  August,  sent  for  the  commissioners,  and  delivered  to 
them  a  written  message,  in  which,  without  absolutely  rejecting 
the  proposals,  he  again  requested  to  be  received  in  London  to 
treat  personally  with  the  parliament.^ 

The  independents  could  not  restrain  their  joy.  On  the  re- 
turn  of  the  commissioners,  a  vote  of  thanks  to  them  was  as 
usual  proposed :  "  It  is  the  king  we  should  thank,"  cried  a 
member.  "  What  will  become  of  us  now  he  has  refused  our 
proposals  V*  anxiously  inquired  a  presbyterian.  "  What 
would  have  become  of  us  if  he  had  accepted  them  ?"  replied 
an  independent. §  A  message  came  from  the  Scottish  commis- 
sioners  offering  to  surrender  all  the  places  they  occupied,  and 
to  withdraw  their  army  from  England  (Aug  10). ||  The  lords 
voted  that  their  brethren  the  Scots  had  deserved  well  of  the 
country  ;  the  commons  did  not  join  in  this  vote,  but  passed  a 
resolution  by  which  it  was  forbidden  to  speak  ill  of  the  Scots 
or  to  print  anything  against  them  (Aug.  14).1F  For  a  moment, 
both  parties,  the  one  disheartened,  the  other  reassured  by  the 
king's  refusal,  seemed  solely  engaged  in  regulating  in  concert 
their  interests  and  their  discussions. 

But  truces  proclaimed  by  prudence  or  spite  between  adverse 
passions  are  of  short  duration.  The  offer  of  the  Scots  gave 
rise  to  two  questions:  how  the  arrears  which  were  due  to 
them  and  which  they  had  been  long  claiming,  were  to  be 
settled  ?  and  who  was  to  have  the  disposal  of  the  king's  per- 
son ?  These  questions  once  started,  both  parties  renewed  the 
conflict. 

On  the  first  point,  the  presbyterians  easily  gained  the  ad- 

•  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  319.     t  Ludlow,  79.     t  Pari-  Hist,  iii.,  513—516. 
§  Burnet,  Memoirs  of  the  Hamiltons,  283.     ||  Pari.  Hist.,  in.,  516. 
IT  lb.     This  ordinance  only  passed  the  commons  by  a  majority  of  130 
to  102. 


vantage  :  the  demands  of  the  Scots,  it  is  true,  were  exorbitant ; 
after  giving  parliament  credit  for  what  it  had  already  paid, 
they  still  claimed  nearly  700,000/.,   "  without  mentioning," 
they  said,  "  the  enormous  losses  which  Scotland  had  suffered  in 
consequence  of  her  alliance  with  England,  and  of  which  they 
left  the  valuation  to  the  equity  of  parliament.*     The  inde- 
pendents railed  with  their  bitter  irony  against  so  expensive  a 
fraternity  ;  in  their  turn,  they  opposed  to  the  claims  of  the 
Scots  a  detailed  account  of  the  sums  which  had  been  levied 
by  them,  and  of  their  exactions  in  the  north  of  the  kingdom, 
an  account,  according  to  which,  Scotland,  so  far  from  having 
anything  due  to  her,  was  more  than  400,000/.  in  debt  to  Eng- 
land.f     But  these  recriminations  could  not  be  admitted  or 
even  seriously  debated  by  sensible  men  ;  the  retirement  of  the 
Scots  was  evidently  necessary  ;  the  northern  counties  loudly 
called  for  it ;  to  obtain  it  they  must  be  paid,  for  a  war  would 
be  much  dearer  and  far  more  perilous  to  parliament.     The 
shuffling  pertinacity  of  the  independents  seemed  merely  blind 
passion  or  factious  manoeuvring  ;  the   presbyterians,  on  the 
contrary,  promised  to  bring  the  Scots  to  more  moderate  terms : 
all  the  wavering,  distrustful,  or  reserved,  who  ranked  under 
the  banner  of  no  party,  and  who  several  times,  from  dislike 
of  presbyterian  despotism,  had  given  the  independents  a  ma- 
jority, took  on  this  occasion  the  side  of  their  adversaries  : 
400,000/.  were  voted  as  the  maximum  concession:]:  the  Scots 
could  hope   for,   payable,  one   half  on  their  departure  from 
England,  the  other  half  at  the  expiration  of  two  years.     They 
accepted  the  bargain,  and  a  loan,  on  mortgage  of  church  pro- 
perty, was  immediately  opened  in  the  city,  to  provide  the 
means  of  payment  (Oct.  13).§ 

But  when  the  question  turned  on  the  disposal  of  the  king's 
person,  the  position  of  the  presbyterians  became  very  embar- 
rassing. Had  they  wished  him  to  remain  in  the  hands  of  the 
Scots,  they  could  not  even  have  suggested  such  an  idea,  for 
the  national  pride  absolutely  repelled  it ;  it  was  the  honor  and 
right,  was  the  universal  cry,  of  the  English  people  alone  to 
dispose  of  their  sovereign  ;  to  what  jurisdiction   could   the 

*P&r\.Hist.yUt8Up.  fib. 

t  In  four  votes  of  100,000/.  each ;  the  13th,  21st,  ana  27th  of  August, 
and  l8t  of  September.—Parl.  Hist.,  ut  sup. 
§  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  376  ;  Holies,  Memoirs,  66. ' 


I 


332 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


333 


I 


Scots  lay  claim  on  English  ground  ?  They  were  nothing  there 
but  auxiliaries,  paid  auxiliaries,  who,  it  was  quite  obvious, 
thought  of  nothing  but  their  pay  ;  let  them  take  their  money, 
then,  and  return  to  their  own  country  ;  England  neither  want- 
ed  nor  feared  them.  The  Scots,  on  their  side,  however  great 
their  desire  to  avoid  a  rupture,  could  not  endure  patiently  all 
this  contumely.  Charles,  they  said,  was  their  king  as  well 
as  king  of  England ;  they  had,  equally  with  the  English,  the 
right  to  watch  over  his  person  and  his  fortunes  ;  the  covenant 
imposed  this  upon  them  as  a  duty.  The  quarrel  became 
very  animated  ;  conferences,  pamphlets,  declarations,  reciprc 
cal  accusations  multiplied,  and  grew  more  vehement  day  after 
day  ;  day  after  day  the  people^  without  distinction  of  party, 
denounced  more  and  more  loudly  the  pretensions  of  the  Scots, 
who  had  altogether  fallen  in  popular  opinion :  national  preju- 
dices  and  antipathies  had  reappeared  ;  and  the  rapacity  of  the 
Scots,  their  narrow-minded  prudence,  their  theological  pe- 
dantry, daily  became  more  distasteful  to  the  freer,  more  en- 
larged,  and  more  libeVal  minds,  the  more  extended  and  bolder 
fanaticism  of  their  allies.  The  political  leaders  of  the  pres- 
byterian  party,  Holies,  Stapleton,  Glynn,  weary  of  a  struggle 
in  which  they  found  themselves  straitened  and  subordinate, 
impatiently  sought  the  means  of  putting  an  end  to  it.  They 
persuaded  themselves,  that  if  the  Scots  gave  the  king  into  the 
hands  of  parliament,  it  would  be  easy  to  disband  that  fatal 
army,  the  only  strength  of  the  independents,  the  true  enemy 
of  the  parliament  and  of  the  king.  They  therefore  counselled 
the  Scots  to  yield,  for  the  interest  of  their  own  cause  ;  and,  at 
the  same  time,  the  lords,  probably  determined  by  the  same 
influence,  at  length  agreed  (Sept.  24)  to  this  resolution  of  the 
commons  which  had  been  five  months  in  suspense :  "  that  to 
the  parliament  alone  belongs  the  right  of  disposing  of  the 
king's  person."* 

The  Scottish  presbyterians,  most  of  them  at  least,  were 
quite  willing  to  believe  in  the  wisdom  of  this  counsel,  and  to 
follow  it,  embarrassed  as  they  were  by  their  own  resistance, 
and  not  knowing  how  to  maintain  it  nor  how  to  give  it  up. 
But  the  king's  friends  among  the  party  had  lately  acquired 
rather  more  boldness  and  power.     The  duke  of  Hamilton  was 

•  Rushworth,  i.,  4, 329—372  ;  Holies,  Memoirs,  68  ;  Baillie,  ii.,  257; 
Laing,  iii.,  369. 


at  their  head,  after  an  imprisonment  of  three  years  at  St 
Michael's  Mount,  in  Cornwall,  whither  he  had  been  sent  in 
consequence  of  the  distrust  which  his  wavering  conduct  had 
inspired  at  the  court  of  Oxford,  and  in  the  mind  of  the  king 
himself.     He  had  quitted  the  place  when  it  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  parliament,  and  after  passing  a  few  days  in  London, 
and  paying  cordial  visits  to  the  members  of  both  houses,  he 
had  proceeded  to  Newcastle,  where  Charles  had  just  arrived 
with  the  Scottish  army,  had  soon  regained  his  former  favor 
with  the  king,  and  on  his  return  to  Edinburgh  had  made  the 
most  earnest  efforts  for  his  safety.*     Around  him  immediately 
rallied  nearly  all  the  higher  nobility  of  the  kingdom,  the  citi- 
zens,  the  moderate  presbyterians  ;  the  prudent,  who  were  dis- 
gusted  with  the  blind   fanaticism  of  the  multitude  and  the 
insolent  domination  of  its  ministers ;  the  honest  and  timid 
who  were  willing  to  make  any  sacrifice  to  obtain  a  little  rest! 
1  hese  effected  the  appointment  of  a  new  and  solemn  deputa- 
tion,  who  went  to  Newcastle,  and  conjured  the  king,  on  their 
knees,  to  accept  the  proposals  of  parliament.     The  passionate 
entreaties  of  these  deputies,  all  of  them  his  fellow-countrymen 
nearly  all  of  them  the  companions  of  his  youth,  shook  Charles's 
resolution :  "  Upon  my  word,"  he  said  to  them,  "  all  the  dan- 
gers and  mconveniences  laid  before  me  do  not  so  much  trouble 
me,  as  that  I  should  not  give  full  satisfaction  to  the  desires  of 
my  native  country,  especially  being  so  earnestly  pressed  upon 
me.     I  desire  to  be  rightly  understood  :  I  am  far  from  eivine 
you  a  negative—nay,  I  protest  against  it,  my  only  wish  beini 

0  be  heard  and  hope  you  will  press  those  at  London  to  hear 
reason.  If  a  kmg  were  to  refuse  this  to  any  of  his  subjects, 
he  would  be  thought  a  tyrant.^f  The  next  day,  possibl^ 
after  fresh  solicitations,  he  offered  to  limit  the  establishment 
01  the  episcopal  church  to  five  dioceses,^  allowing  the  presby- 
terian  system  to  prevail  in  the  rest  of  the  kingdom,  claiming 
only  for  himself  and  his  friends  of  the  same  persuasion,  the 
iree  exercise  of  their  own  conscience  and  worship,  until,  in 
conjunction  with  the  parliament,  he  should  put  an  end  to  all. 
ineir  differences.  But  no  partial  concession  satisfied  the  pres- 
t>yterians ;  and  the  higher  offers  the  king  made,  the  more  they 

*  Clarendon,  iii.,  152  ;  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  327. 
t  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  327. 

1  Those  of  Oxford,  Winchester,  Bristol,  Bath  and  WeUs,  and  Exeter. 


1 

r 


334 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


335 


11:: 


doubted  his  sincerity.  His  proposal  was  scarcely  listened  to. 
Hamilton,  discouraged,  talked  of  retiring  to  the  continent ;  a 
report  at  the  same  time  was  spread,  that  the  Scottish  army 
was  about  to  enter  Scotland.  The  king  immediately  wrote  to 
the  duke  (Sept.  26) :  "  Hamilton,  I  have  so  much  to  write, 
and  so  little  time  for  it,  that  this  letter  will  be  suitable  to  the 

times,  without  method  or  reason. Those  at  London  think 

to  get  me  into  their  hands  by  telling  our  countrymen  that  they 
do  not  intend  to  make  me  a  prisoner.    O  no,  by  no  means  !— but 
only  to  give  me  an  honorable  guard  forsooth,  ;0  attend  me 
continually,   for  the  security  of  my  person.      Wherefore  I 
must  then  tell  you  (and  'tis  so  far  from  a  secret  that  I  desire 
every  one  should  know  it),  that  I  will  not  be  left  in  England 
when  this  army  retires,  unless  clearly,  and  according  to  the 
old  way  of  understanding  I  may  remain  a  free  man,  and  that 
no  attendant  be  forced  upon  me  upon  any  pretence  whatsoever. 
Bv  going,  you  take  away  from  me  the  means  of  showing  my- 
self-"  and  he  finished  his  letter  with  these  words :  "  Your 
most  assured,  real,  faithful,  constant  friend."*     Hamilton  re. 
mained ;  the  Scottish  parliament  met  (November) :  its  first 
sittings  seemed  to  announce  a  firm   and  active  good-will  to- 
wards  the  king.     It  declared  (Dec.  16)  that  it  would  maintain 
monarchical  government  in  the  person  and  descendants  ot  his 
majesty,  as  well  as  his  just  rights  to  the  crown  of  England ; 
and  that  secret  instructions  should  be  sent  to  the  Scottish  com- 
missioners in  London,  to  negotiate  that  the   king  might  go 
thither  with  honor,  safety,  and  liberty.     But  next  day  the  per- 
manent  committee  of  the  general  assembly  of  the  presbytei  lan 
church  addressed  a  public  remonstrance  to  the  Scottish  parlia- 
ment, accusing  it  of  listening  to  perfidious  counsels,  and  com- 
plaining that  it  put  the  union  of  the  two  kingdoms,  the  only 
hope  of  the  faithful,  in  peril,  merely  to  serve  a  prince  obsti- 
nate  in  rejecting  the  covenant  of  Christ.f      Agamst  such 
intervention,  Hamilton  and  his  friends  were  powerless,     lae 
docile  parliament  retracted  its  vote  of  the  preceding  day ;  and 
the  moderate  men  could  effect  nothing  beyond  a  fresh  message 
to  the  king,  entreating  him  to  accept  the  proposals.     Charles 
only  answered  by  another  message,  requesting  to  treat  in  per- 
son  with  parliament.^ 


*  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  327—329. 
$  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  393. 


t  lb.,  390 ;  Laing,  iii.,  364—368. 


A  the  very  moment  that,  for  the  fifth  time,  he  was  express- 
ing this  unavailing  wish,  parliament  was  signing  the  treatv 
regulating  the  retirement  of  the  Scottish  army,  and  the  mode 
of  paying  it  (Dec.   23).*     The  loan  opened  in  the  city  had 

olZZ      ^!^f^.l.  ^l^^ '     °^    '^^    ^^'^   ^^  December,    the 
200,000/.  which  the  Scots  were  to  receive  previous  to  their 

departure,  enclosed  in  two  hundred  cases,  sealed  with  the  seal 
of  the  two  nations,  and  conveyed  in  thirty-six  carts,t  left  Lon- 
don, escorted  by  a  body  of  infantry;  and  Skippon,  who  com. 
manded  it,  issued  an  order  of  the  day  that  any  officer  or  soldier 
who  by  word  or  deed  or  otherwise,  should  give  any  Scottish 
officer  or  soldier  subject  of  complaint,  should  forthwith  be  se- 
yerely  punished.^     The  convoy  entered  York  on  the  1st  of 
January,  1647,  the  cannon  of  the  town  celebrating  its  arrival  •& 
and  three  weeks  after,  the  Scots  received  their  first  payment 
at  Northallerton.     The  king's  name  was  not  mentioned  in  the 
course  of  this  negotiation ;  but  a  week  after  the  treaty  had 
been  signed  (Dec.  31),||  the  two  houses  voted  that  he  should 
be  conveyed  to  Holmby  Castle  in  Northamptonshire  :  and  he 
so  undoubtedly  formed  part  of  the  bargain,  that  the  commons 
discussed  the  question  whether  commissioners  should  be  sent 
to  Newcastle  to   receive  him  solemnly  from  the  Scots,  or 
whether  they  should  merely  require  him  to  be  given  up  with- 
out any  ceremony  to  Skippon,  with  the  keys  of  the  place  and 
the  receipt  for  the  money.     The  independents  strongly  insisted 
upon  the  last  mode,  delighted  with  the  idea  of  insulting  at  the 
same  time  the  king  and  their  rivals.     But  the  presbyterians 
succeeded  in  rejecting  it  (Jan.  6,  1674)  ;ir  and  on  the  12th  of 
January,  nine  commissioners,  three  lords  and  six  members  of 
the  conimons,**  left  London  with  a  numerous  suite,  to  go  and 
respectfully  take  possession  of  their  sovereign.ft 

Charles  was  playing  at  chess  when  he  received  the  first  in- 
timation of  the  vote  of  parliament  and  of  his  approaching  re- 
moval  to  Holmby  Castle ;  he  quietly  finished  his  game/and 

*Parl.  Hist,  iii.,  532— 536. 

f  Rufworth,  i..  4.  389:  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  533.       J  Whitelocke,  230 
S  D    ,  •  S^*'  "^  *"-P-  >  i^rake.  History  of  York  (1736),  171. 
^/arl.  Hist,  538.  if  lb. 

CokP   «f,^}!  of  Pembroke  and  Denbigh,  lord  Montague,  sir  John 

cLew  /  Y"^^-'  ^^^*  ^''  -^^^^  "«^1^^^'  «i'  Ja°^es  Hafrin^on,  Mr. 
++^'-  ^"^  major-general  Brown. 
TT  Sir  Thomas  Herbert,  Memoirs  (1702),  7 


I  'I 


336 


HISTORY   OP  THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


337 


„,erely  observed  that  on  the  a„ival  of  the  comrm^^^ners  he 
wnnia  acQuaint  them  with  his  will  (Jan.  lo).  inose  aDout 
Mm  manXted  more  anxiety  ;  his  friends  and  servants  oolced 
iound  on  aU  sides  for  some  aid,  some  refuge,  now  med.taUng 
another  flight,  now  attempting  in  some  corner  of  the  kingdom 
t  "excTte  a^fresh  rising  of  the  royalists  •"  his  favor.t  tven 
hP  neoDle  beean  to  show  themselves  touched  by  his  fate.  A 
ScottSf  mini t  "r,  preaching  before  him  at  Newcastle,  gave 
out  the  51st  Psalm,  beginning  with  these  words. 

"  Why  dost  thou,  tyrant,  boast  thyself 
Thy  wicked  works  to  praise  ? " 

The  king  arose,  and  instead  of  this,  began  the  56th  Psalm: 

««  Have  mercy,  Lord,  on  me  I  pray, 
For  men  would  me  devour  : " 

and  with  a  common  impulse,  the  whole  assembly  joined  with 
Wm3  but  the  pity  of  a  people  is  tardy,  and  remains  long 

"Trc'ommissioners  arrived  at  Newcastle  (Jan. -22) ;  the 
Scottish  parliament  had  officially  consented  to  surrender  the 
Wna  (Jan    16).§     "  I  am  sold  and  bought,'    said  he,  when  h 
Sd  of  h      Yet  he  received  the  commissioners  well,  talked 
SfuUy  with  them,  congratulated  lord  Pef  jk«  "P°"^^'^\'; 
ing  been  able  at  his  age,  and  m  so  severe  a  reason,  to  make 
so  lona  a  journey  without  fatigue,  inquired  the  state  of  h 
^ads,"'appiared,  in  short,  anxious  for  them  to  think  h.m  gl 
to  return  to  the  parliament.|l     Before  quitting  h.m,  the  Scot  sh 
commissioners,  lord  Lauderdale  m  particular,  *«  most  f ;'; 
sighted  of  all,  made  a  last  attempt  with  him  in  ffvor  of  t 
covenant :  "  If  he  would  but  adopt  it,    they  saul,    '  instead  ol 
giving  him  up  to  the  English,  we  will  take  him  to  Berw'* 
and  obtain  reasonable  conditions  for  h.m."     They  even  offeed 
Montreuil,  who  still  served  as  a  mediator  between  them,  a  large 
sum  of  money  if  he  could  only  obtain  a  prom.se  from  the  k.ng/1 
Charles  persisted  in  his  refusal,  but  w.thout  complam.ng  ol  tne 

ISlS:VtiiiCr,.  i..87;  Uttero'}rd:'^ontreuiltoM.a. 
Biioime,  February  2, 1647. 


conduct  of  the  Scots  towards  him   trpatmo-  ,h^  „ 
of  both  nations  with  equal  civi  h^  evilf.i       °°.'""''«««'ners 
exhibiting  either  distruiror  anS     Sefc  '° r'" 

.1' eT  r  T!"  ^•'^'Ldeparture!   Newl'uf  ^s  g  vrt"to 
the  Enghsh  troops   Jan.  301 ;  and  the  king  left  ifon  A^ C 

to  fear,  and  the  soldiers  themselves  dai^Hnr^       T'T^  ^' 

S  hrd-TuSUKf  ^^^^^^^^^^^    ^^^ 

alighted  as  ^nttlT: £'ti:ZlXnr'1  '"^  '^'"^' 

his  horse  again,  went  throuT  he  town  L  m<=    '^    "  """""""^ 
ful  conversation      «  TkI  ^        i  ■  ^  "'^  ^"^^  ^  respect- 

king,  when  he  left  him    "^h^h"'  't  ^  T"  "^ ''°"°^'"  ^^^  the 
and'Jwo  days:i:;(tb.  le^wt^hTenteTgorl'  '"'^  "^ 

on  the^eceptio.:  h^'U^Sv^l^iaSSclsT  '""^^" 
qui  ulTa^Mh^Tut'i^  P'^^^y'---  -noeiveH  some  dis- 
themseTves  misters  of  theZ/T.7^  '°  "l^  ^"^  °'"«»'''''g 
attack  their  enemi?s  SharferrTvld  ^H  V'k«''  '^u'"/  '° 
of  February  •  and  on  thp  IQ  f tK  Holmby  on  the  16th 

that  the  army  shouH  bp  ifh  a  5°"""°""  ^''^  already  voted 
as  might  b™ired  for  thil'^K''^^  ^''°tP''"'S  '"""^  ?<«  °f  it 
risen  and7he7.;'re  ofhe  kinim  t'  'p  T'^'t  °'"!?  «"" 
near  being  dep'Sved  of  tt%tt7d!f  tLTr^p.'^SdT- 

Brion'eTFe'bfut'v  iTeli  ''  '''  ^'""  °'  ^-  <^«  Montreuil  to  M.  de 
...t  %  a  declaration  published  at  Leeds,  February  9, 1647 ;  Pari.  Hist.. 
t  Herbert,  10. 

29 


388 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


and  though  he  was  left  in  possession  of  it,  jt  was  decreed  that 

no  membfr  of  the  house  could  serve  with  h.m,  that  he  should 

havTu^d^r  his  command  no  officer  above  the  rank  of  colonel, 

and  that  they  should  all  be  bound  to  confonn  to  the  presby- 

terian  church,  and  to  adopt  the  covenant.*     On   he.r  side,    ,e 

lord?  to  relieve,  as  they  said,  the  counties  round  London,  the 

most  dev^d  of'all  to  the  public  cause,  required  that  the  army, 

Sing  its  dismissal,  should  take  up  its  quarters  at  a  greater 

distance  from  the  metropolis  (March  24.  t   >  'o*^"  °^  ^00,000/ 

wi  opened  in  the  city  to  pay  the  df  landed  troops  a  portion  o 

thpir  arrears  ±     Finally,  a  special  committee,  on  which  sat 

nearly  aUtheVesbytenan  leaders.  Holies,  Stap  eton,  Gl>-nn, 

MavnUd  Waller,  was  ordered  to  superintend  the  execution 

of  these  measures  and  in  particular  to  hasten  the  departure  of 

"hose  succors  which  the   unfortunate  Irish  protestants  had  «o 

'°"tf  rcTwt^o?  unforeseen  :  for  the  last  two  months  the 
indenendents  had  felt  their  influence  decline  m  the  house,  lor 
mostTthe  new  members,  who  at  first  had  acted  with  then, 
Zm   a  dread  of  presbyterian  despotism,  were  begmmng  to 
^m  agah^st  them.H     "What  misei^,"  said  Cromwell  one  day 
o  Ludlow  "  to  serve  a  parliament !   let  a  man  be  ever  so  true, 
?  aUwye'r  clmniate  him  he  can  never  recover  it ;  whereas 
in  serving  under  a  general,  one  is  as  useful,  and  there  .. 
neither  bfame  nor  envy  to  dread  ;  if  thy  father  were  a  live  he 
would  soon  let  some  of  them  hear  what  tbey  de^-    t    A 
sincere  republican,  and  as  yet  a  stranger  to  the  intrigues  o 
K,.,  n»rtv  thouffh   he   fully  shared  their  passions,  Ludlow  ma 
So'  Sid^his  friendl  meaning,  and  did   not  meet  Ins 
advances    but  others  were  more  easily  deceived  and  seduced 
Cromwell'had  already,  in  the  army,  several  Me  a^comphc 
and  blind  instruments ;  .Ireton,  who  shortly  after  .became  m 
son  in-law,  a  man  bred  to  the  law,  but  now  commissary-gone- 
rarof   hi  cavalry,  of  a  firm,  obstinate,  and  subtle   spirit,  ca- 
nable  of  carryiS  on  silently,   and  with  deep  cunning,  th 
Sestdesfgns,  veiled  under  an  appearance  of  rough  hones^v 
Cbert!one  ^f  the  most  brilliant  officers  of  the  ar-y-  »mb,^ 
'S^n,  and  who,  like  Ireton,  brought  up  to  the  law, 

li  Id.,  ib.  •"  Ludlow.  79. 


339 

.retained  of  his  studies  a  nnw=,    r  ■     •        '. 
speech,  which  he  Tked  to  makl  '"^'""f  "i-  »  readiness  of 
Harrison,  Hammond,  Pride   S    rT  f  ^'"^  the  soldiers; 
colonels  of  tried  va  or    poouk,    ^*"'^'«'-°"gh,  all  of  them 
him  :  Harrison,  becauT;  fn'^n  on,  P^'-^"ally  attached  to 

the  Lord   together:  Hamlnr^  T  ^^^  ^^<^  «'"ght 

him   for  his  marriage   wihrJ^'''*,""^  '"^  ^'^  indebted  to 
others,  because  thev  felt /h^  ''JJ^'"^'"  °f  Hampden  ;«  the 

pected  their  riVt^h  tit  S  '"'/  °'.  ^t  ««»'"«'  -  «- 
By  their  means,  Cromwell  thou7  fh  '^'1-  ^'"^  ^'  ^''''ier^. 
resumed  his  seat  at  WeSminZI  '  ■"  "'?'"  ^'"^  °^er,  he  had 
in  the  army,  and  LZT?T     '  "Maintained  all  his  influence 

gable  acti4      A^°,l^  t  tr'nlf'T^'^  '^^'^  ^is  indefati! 

talked  of,  the^e  mtn  i„7X>itet?"l  ■  °^'^^ 

«  was  to  them  that,  from  ChI  ""•  '"  *^''"  """rmurs  : 

tions  were  sent  whinh  ,L  "!,."'"''^'  '"sinuations,  sugges 

throughout  The\rmy'S4rn^fhf''.^H"''^"'^'^''""*'^«d 
payment  of  the  whofe  of  tCr  ^,*:  jj^ ""Lfi  "1''  "P°°  '^' 
Ireland,  to  avoid  disunion  amonriK  f^^  '°  ^'^^  '« 
meanwhile,  to  disarm  sus2ion  nn!   ^T"^'^^'-      Cromwell, 

stantly  deploring  fr^m  hfs  '  k- J?^""!!!  ^^  '"''"^^'  ^^^  ''°''- 
of  the  army  and  Z,T;„  <•  Vu  ®  '"  "^^  ''°"^  the  discontent 
parliamentt  ^  Protestations  of  his  devotion  to 

They  p„,mi^d  to  go  to  Irdand  aT  .h  ^f  '=''°«i'iatory  tone, 
tented  themselves  Sr  tL  p  ese„t  tith'off  ■"''  °''^'?'  """^  <^°»- 
«  to  the  payment  of  arrears  l^H  .1?  '"^  ""^^"^  ''"""^el 
tr«,ps  had  a  right  to  expecT  •  Th!  K  ^^  guarantees  that  the 
haughtily  mtim\ted  thafit  beclme  nonT ,  '^^^'^  '^'"''  ''« 
what  to  do.S     As  soon   a<=  t^t  ^  '°  '^"^''^  pariiament 

another  petition  waf^n  ,.i  *"^"'^'"  ''^^ched  the  army, 
definite  tC  the  fiL  h  d^  ^'Tri'  ^"^  "'^'^  ^^  ^"d 
he  strictly  liquidated  that  nn^"'^"''u''  t^i  ^^^  "^^ars  should 
Ireland  against  his  will  tV,  "°;°"f  ,''!°"''^  *>«  "^iged  to  go  to 
and  childfeTof  s^  dTei'shonlf ""'''  ^''^'^!^  "^^  ^^e  wilws 

^' -  no  longef  b/rg:  IS^^^Z  Zl^t 
^  Clarendon,  iii..  ns 


Clarendon,  iii.,  118. 
^  Pari.  Hist,  iii..  560. 


t  Holies,  Memoirs,  84 
§  lb.,  iii.,  562. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


341 


p« 


340 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


lIM 


drawn  up ,  ana  ii  wds  .    '    r-  .u      j.j„y  and  guardian 

P^    ip^  Fa  rfaxo  prohibit  them,  declaring  that  whoever 

rain-of  rrerf  tratS  VeTu^e-ana  explain'^  their 

"^t^l  promised  obedience :  Hammond    P^- S^:; 
or.^    r^rimes  went  to  Westminster  (April   1),  ana  iouaiy  rt- 
Sed""  t'hT^hlrges  brought  against  them :  »   t  .s  not    ru^ 

-^ ^''^ "if:a:':t czn^ ::l  t^'y^L  it  had 

**' ThTp?eirations  for  disbanding  the  army  were  resumed : 
JL^7p:ned  in  the  city  went  on  s^wly    an^  was^-t 

enough  ;  a  gene^^^f  Abov/aMhe  foTmation  of  tL  corps 
SLT     :    Xdlattrned  ;  great  advantages  were 

'p'romiLd  to  those  who  would  enlist  '"/^'T; :,, -JiS^'PPX 
„nH  Missev  were  appointed  to  command  them.||     five  coim 
m"ier:rall  of  thl'presbyterian  party,  proceeded  to  head- 

%?riTo^hra7rSuCil^^^^^^^ 

ltbr^.M^c..generalS.^^^^^^^^ 

HL^onT'  wmVeadily  Iblirma^r-gener^  Skippon,  which 

Hist.,  iiiv  567. 

t  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  444.  K^„;««;n<r  of  Aoril.  was  not  defi- 

The  tax  was  voted  for  one  year. 
II  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  452. 


Otherwise  they  would  not ;  they  know  the  worth  and  valor 
of  that  great  soldier  ;  but  they  must  also  have  the  general 
officers  of  whom  they  have  had  such  experience."  "Yes 
yes,"  cried  the  officers  ;  "give  us  Fairfax  and  Cromwell,  and 
we  will  go.  The  commissioners,  quite  disconcerted,  left 
the  room,  requesting  that  all  the  well-disposed  would  come  to 
them  at  their  lodgings.  Scarcely  more  than  twelve  or  fifteen 
accepted  the  invitation.* 

A  few  days   after  (April   27),t  a  hundred  and  forty-one 
officers  addressed   a  solemn  justification  of  their  conduct  to 
parliament :  "  We   hope,  by  being  soldiers,"  they  said,  "  we 
liave  not  lost  the  capacity  of  subjects,  nor  divested  ourselves 
thereby  of  our  interests  in  the  commonwealth ;  that  in   pur- 
chasing  the   freedom  of  our  brethren,  we  have  not  lost  our 
own.     For  our  liberty  of  petitioning,  we  hope  the  house  will 
never  deny  it  to  us,  as  it  has  not  denied  it  to  its  enemies,  but 
justified  and  commended  it,  and  received   misrepresentations 
of  us.     The  false  suggestions  of  some  men  have  informed  you 
that  the  army  intended  to  enslave  the  kingdom :  we  earnestly 
implore  your  justice  to  vindicate   us,  and  that  our  hardly, 
earned  wages  may  be  cared  for,  according  to  our  great  neces- 
sities,  more  especially  those  of  the  soldiers." 

The  house  had  scarcely  finished  reading  this  letter  (April 
30),  when   Skippon   rose,  and  delivered  another,  which  had 
been  brought  to  him  the  day  before  by  three  private  soldiers. 
In  It  eight  regiments  of  horse   expressly  refused  to  serve  in 
Ireland.     It  was,  they  said,  a  perfidious  design  upon  them 
and  many  of  the  godly  party,  a  pretext  to  separate  the  soldiers 
trom  the  officers  they  loved,  and  to  conceal  the  ambition  of  a 
lew  men  who  had  long  been  servants,  but  who  having   lately 
tasted  of  sovereign  power,   were  now,   in  order    to  remain 
masters,  degenerating  into  tyrants.     At  this  personal  attack, 
the  presbyterian  leaders,   alike  astonished  and  irritated,  de- 
manded that  the  house,  laying  aside  all  other  business,  should 
summon  before  it  and  question  the  three  soldiers.      They 
came ;  their  demeanor  was  firm,  their  deportment  unembar- 
rassed.f     "  Where  was  this  letter  got  up  ?"    inquired    the 

*  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  457;  Whitelocke,  244. 
I  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  568  ;  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  469 — 472, 
X  Their  names  were  Edward  Sexby,  William  AUen,  and  Thomas 
Sheppard. 

29* 


342 


HISTORY    OF   THB 


speaker  "  At  a  meeting  of  the  regiments."  "  Who  wrote 
it *"  "A  council  of  delegates  appointed  by  each  regiment, 
"bid  your  officers  approve  of  it?"  "Very  few  of  them 
know  anything  about  it."  "Do  you  know  that  none  but 
royalists  could  have  suggested  such  a  proceedmg  ?  You  your- 
selves  were  you  ever  cavaliers  ?"  "  We  entered  the  service 
of  par'liament  before  the  battle  of  Edge-hill,  and  have  re- 
mained  in  it  ever  since."  One  of  the  three  stepped  forward  : 
"  I  received,  on  one  occasion,  five  wounds  ;  I  had  lallen ; 
major-general  Skippon  saw  me  on  the  ground  ;  he  gave  me 
fivi  shillings  to  get  relief;  the  major-general  can  contradic 
me  if  I  lie  "  "  It  is  true,"  said  Skippon,  looking  with  interest 
at  the  soldier.  "  But  what  means  this  sentence  in  which  you 
speak  about  sovereign  power?"  "We  are  only  the  agents 
of  our  regiments ;  if  the  house  will  give  us  its  questions  in 
writing,  we  will  take  them  to  the  regiments  and  bring  back 

thp  8,nswGrs 

A  violent  tumult  arose  in  the  house  ;  the  presbyterians 
broke  out  into  threats.  Cromwell,  leaning  towards  Ludlow, 
who  was  sitting  next  to  him,  said,  "These  men  will  never 
leave,  till  the  army  pull  them  out  by  the  eare.  T  . 

,  Anger  soon  gave  way  to  uneasiness ;  the  discovery  just 
made  was  an  alarming  one ;  it  was  no  longer  discontented 
soldiers  whom  they  had  to  repress  ;  the  whole  army  was 
banded  together,  was  erecting  itself  into  an  independent, 
perhaps  rival  power,  had  already  its  own  government.  Two 
councils,  com^sed  the  one  of  officers,  the  other  of  delegates 
or  agUaWrs,  named  by  the  soldiers,  regulated  all  its  proceed- 
ingsfand  were  preparing  to  negotiate  m  its  name.  Every 
precaution  had  been  taken  to  keep  up  this  growing  organiza- 
tion ;  every  squadron,  every  company  named  two  agitatoi^ ; 
whenever  it  was  necessary  for  them  to  meet,  every  soldier 
gave  fourpence  to  defray  the  expenses,  and  the  two  councils 
tere  never  to  act  but  in  common.t  At  the  same  time,  a  re- 
port  was  spread,  and  not  without  foundation,  that  Vjopof^ 
had  reached  the   king  from  the  army ;   it  was  said  that  it 

•  Rushworth,  i.,  4.  474 ;  Holies,  Memoirs,  89 ;  Whltelocke,  249. 
iRS^ro'r^'-i..  4.  485;  Fairfax,  106;  HoUes.  ,U  .up.!  Ludlow. 

Ut  8Up. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


843 


offered  to  re-establish  him   in  his  just  rights,*  if  he  would 
place  himself  at  its  head  and  under  its  care.     In  parliament 
Itself,  at  the  manifestation  of  this  new  power,  and  dreading 
Its  immediate  strength  still  more  than  its  triumph,  the  more 
cautious  members  became  timid ;  some  left  London  :  others, 
like  Whltelocke,  sought  the  favor  of  the  generals,  of  Crom- 
well  m  particular,  who  eagerly  met  their  advances.t     It  was 
resolved  to  try  the  effect  of  compliance,  and  to  treat  with  the 
army  through  its  own  leaders.     Two  months'  pay,  instead  of 
SIX  weeks',  as  first   voted,  was  promised   to  the  troops  who 
were  to  be  disbanded  (May  14)  4  an  ordinance  was  drawn 
up  for  a  general  amnesty  for  all  disorders  and  illegal  acts 
committed   during   the   war  ;§    and   funds  were    assigned  to 
assist  the  widows  and  children  of  soldiers.  ||     Finally^  Crom- 
well, Ireton,  Skippon,  Fleetwood,  all  the  generals  who  were 
members  of  the  commons,  and  who  were  acceptable  to  the 
army,  were  charged  to  re-establish  harmony  between  it  and 
the  parliament. IT 

A  fortnight  passed  without  their  presence  at  head-quarters 
appearing    to   produce    any   effect.     They   wrote    often,   but 
tl^ir   letters   contained   nothing:    sometimes  the   council  of 
officers  had  refused  to  answer  without  the  concurrence  of 
the   agitators ;    sometimes   the   agitators   themselves  had  re- 
quested  time  to  consult  the  soldiers.**     Every  day,  and  under 
the   eyes   of  the   commissioners   of  parliament,   this   hostile 
government    acquired    more    consistency    and    power.      Yet 
Cromwell  ceased  not  to  write  that  he  was  exhausting  him- 
selt  in  futile  efforts  to  appease  the  army,  that  his  own  influ- 
ence was  greatly  suffering  in  consequence,  and  that  he  him- 
seit  should  soon  become  an  object  of  suspicion  and  odium  to 
the  soldiers.ft     Some  of  the  commissioners  at  length  returned 

*  Proposals  of  this  nature  had  in  fact  been  made  to  the  king  by  some 
omcers  in  the  beginning  of  April ;  Charles  rejected  them.— Clarendon, 
J>tate  Papers,  ii.,  365.  * 

I  ^^''^$^''^\?'^^-  ,  t  Rushworth,  i.,  4, 4S4. 
Ibid    4s          ordinance  was  definitively  adopted  on  the  21st  of  May— 

II  Holies,  91. 

7fi!  ^^7  ^^"^  *°  ^^®  head-quarters  at  Saffron  Walden,  in  Essex  on  the 
vtii  ol  May,  1647. 

**  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  480,  485,  487 ;  Huntingdon,  Memoirs  (1702),  152. 
TT  Clarendon,  in.,  357,  &c. 


344 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


;i|;* 


to  London,  bringing  from  the  army  the  same  proposals  on  the 
one  hand,  the  same  refusals  on  the  other. 

The  Presbyterian  leaders  had  expected  this ;  and  profitmg 
bv  the  disposition  of  the  house,  which  had  hoped  for  better 
things,  obtained  in  a  few  hours  the  adoption  of  more  decided 
resolutions.  On  a  motion  of  Holies,  it  was  voted  that  the 
troops  which  would  not  enlist  for  Ireland,  should  be  mstantly 
disbanded  :  all  the  details  of  this  measure  were  arranged  the 
day,  the  place,  the  means.  The  corps  were  to  be  dissolved 
suddenly,  separately,  each  in  its  quarters,  almost  at  the  same 
time,  or  at  very  short  intervals,  so  that  they  might  neither 
concert  nor  assemble  together.  The  money  necessary  to  carry 
out  the  first  acts  of  the  operation  was  forwarded  to  ditlerent 
points,  and  commissioners,  all  of  them  presbytenans,  were 
'  sent  to  superintend  its  execution. f  . 

They  found  the  army  in  the  most  violent  contusion :  in- 
formed  of  the  blow  which  threatened  them,  most  of  the  regi- 
ments had  mutinied ;    some,  expelling  such  officers  as  they 
distrusted,    had  of  their   own    authority   put   themselves   in 
motion,  with  colors  flying,  to  join  their  comrades;  others  had 
entrenched  themselves,   armed   and   equipped,   m   churches, 
declaring  that  they  would  not  disperse ;  some  had  seized  the 
money  destined  to  pay  the  disbanded  troops  ;  all  clamorous  y 
demanded  a  general  meeting,  in  which  the  whole  army  might 
be  heard  ;  and  a  letter  was  immediately  addressed  to  t  airtax 
(May  29)  in  the  name  of  the  soldiers,  saying,  that  it  then- 
officers  refused  to  lead  them,  they  well  knew  how  to  meet 
without  them  and  defend  their  own  rights.     Fairfax  discon- 
certed,  afflicted,  exhorted  the  officers,  hearkened  to  the  soldiers, 
wrote  to  parliament,  alike  sincere  and  alike  uninfluential  with 
all  parties,  equally  incapable  of  resigning  popularity  or  ex- 
ercising power.     At  last  he  called  a  council  of  war  (May  2b), 
and  the  officers,  with  only  six  exceptions,  voted  the  resolutions 
of  parliament  were  not  satisfactory,  that  the  army  could  not 
disperse  without  better  securities,  that  it  should  draw  its  quar- 
ters  nearer  together  ;  that  a  general  meeting  should  take  place 
to  calm  the  fears  of  the  soldiers ;  and  that  an  humble  represen- 

*  Rushworth,  i.,4,  491.  ^    ,    tt-  .t      •••     *;qo  •  Holies 

t  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  493,  494,  496  ;  Pari.   Hist,     lu.,  582 ,  HoUe^ 

Memoirs,  125.     These  resolutions  were  adopted  by  the  house  ot  loros 

on  May  22,  1647. 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


345 

king,  on  one  hand  0^^  Scitv"  tilU^o  1^"^"  l'  "^  "'^ 
and  very  near  becomC  3.s  on Th  "'r^''^'""'^"' 
measures  had  already  bin  t4en  wi?h  .1  °^^'-  ^""^ 
consent  of  the  common  councHfh/  '^.s  view;  by  the 
had  been  taken  W  thi  ?^  '  j  """""^nd  of  the  militia 
committee  of  presC^^rians  +  T"*^'"''  ^"^  transferred  to  a 
been  placed  rLfCZl^\r%Z:rZTTl2im'  A^ 

journed  freely  S' the  ctToTr"*  f  ^^'^'^  ^^y-  ^O" 
Essex  himself  was  no  mL  hat^^^l  'tS''**  °^  '^e  party, 
the  latter  end  of  rSng'l^'St'  T  'T""'''  '' 
from  a  hunting  party  just  at  th!f,i;  '^  u  ^'.  °°  ""^  '"«"""» 
was  preparing  to  make  a  .Ln»l«-.-^  ".^^^  "  ^''^  ^^id  he 
his  death  had^  seemed  fo  thf  ^f  ^  '?  '^^°''  "^  P^ace;  and 
that  a  rumXas  sprld  of  his 'hf  ^'"'r  '°  '"™"«  «  "ow 
enemies.     But  WaUer  Povntl   M    "«  '*^'"  ^^^"^  ^y  his 

all  ready  ,o  dedat  ;hS^v'e^Tsto':h'"'l°''^^'' *»'' 
went  might  very  well  fp«rTh»V  k'  A  ^^^  ^'"S'  Parlia- 
them  a  feelin7much  l!'  f  ^^  ^i"*  "°'  entertain  towards 
with  the  hafd  bStrv  of  ZT^  '^J!  ^'^"'^ '  '^^<^-' 
refused  him -thT  aSftnnf  J  V  °^',.^^',  ^^^''^'  ^^^Y  had 
March  8);  and  twl  prSvLwan  '' •  "^^^^^^^  (^'^-  ^^  ^nd 
and  Caryl    solemrdv  ntl  T?  j    ministers,  Messrs.  Marshall 

at  Holmby SrouTh  khar  !«        ''.  '^T  T  f°™  °f  ^°r«hip, 
most  trusly  sl3tf  h/i  K  "  y  '"'^''"^ '"  ^««"'l  '^  his 

y  Rushworth!  i.,  4,  fsa,  482  ^  ^^ '  "''^"'*'  ^^-      "  ^b-,  13. 

Rushworth,  i.,  4,  483.  ++ paj.i    rr.,f     -     .»» 

TT  i^ari.  Hist,  111.,  577—581. 


846 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH  REVOLUTION. 


347 


\ 


detailed  answer  on  the  proposal  he  had  ^---d^*^^^^^^^ 

and  more  than  a  fortnight  had  el'^P^fd  ^  h^^^  ajiy     ^ 

heing  manifested  to  take,  mtooon.^^^^^^^^ 

and  such  vexatious  rigor,  a   reconL^nia 

Yet  the  necessity  of  'he  ca^ -s  "^^^^^^ 

reason  to  complam  of  the  P'-?«''y'!J'7^'  .  Holmby,  though 

they  did  not  desire  h.s  utter  rum.     ^^^"jV^^^re  observed 

nothmg   ■"  *'^'^/^P^Sly  lived  upon  very  gW  terms 
respect,  and  they  accoruiiigij;  r  „„„o^pany  him 

together ;  sometimes  the  k'ng  mvited  thern  to  accomp    y 

in  his  walks,  sometimes  he  Pl^y^^^^^ed  ^«°nt"n   and  seek- 
them,  always  treating  them  with  marked  attention  ^ 

respondence  witn  tne  resiucni,  rrarrison,  became 

col^el  Greaves,  the  commandant  9^  ^he  gamson 
active  and  mysterious :  already  at  Westmmster  an 
c-itv  every  one  was  indulgmg  in  the  hope  Jhat  the  King 
'^n  3 with  his  parliament,  -hen  -  the  ^  f  J,"^^^^^^^ 

-^r  ofp-^-eiS  ^|H;^^ss:nf 

asked  him  who  he  was,  whence  he  came,  wha  was  ta^^ 

in  the  army;    the  man  ''f^^f^^^.^^^ncCyef without 

?m?^Lt^^i::nTrrw:rSs:rreT«'rulat;I-^ 


•  Herbert,  12. 


tParl.  Hist,  iii.,  5S1. 


Holmby  ;  someV:  a^™  'J  m^^ttlt" Tttk  ° 
the  garrison  promised  to  remain  faithful  to  the  pTrhamen,' 
Towards  midnight,  a  body  of  hor.e  arrived  under  the  waUs 

Dres^X  "     rr  «'  f""^  'P^'*''  *'«h  him  I  must  and  wil 

presently.        Greaves  and   major-general  Brown  oneof Thi 

other   troops,   and    begin   a  second  civil   war ;    and  colon^J 
Greaves,  commandant  of  the  garrison    thev  IaaZ\  a 
gaged   to   accomplish  the  treafhery     'ol  heSl^'S  Z 
«^  d.er«  exclaimed  that  they  would  not  foi^akele  army 
Greaves  disappeared,  and  made  his  escape  in  all  has^e     TL' 
l/Ztr''  '^°'^^-renoe,  the  commissioners  saw  K  all  W 

reH^Hni         ^    ""**'?'  P""'^*^  sentinels  about  it,  iid  then 
retired  till  evening  .to  give  his  men  some  repose. 

"  The  W^"        ■  ^V'?;,™*^  requested  to  be  taken  to  the  kin^ 

he   «  I  L?      '°^/'    ''*'  "■"  *"^^«'-     "  I  don't  care,"  s^d 
he,     I  have  waited  long  enough  ;    I  must  see  him  •"  ^d 

ducld  T^^"^  P"'°'  '"  ^^  '""«^'  he  caused  himself  to  be  ^n 
said  h.  .^^''P'"^"'?"'  "^""P'^-^  hy  Charles.     "  I  am  ^r^"' 
said  he,  to  the  gentleman  in  attendance,  "  to  disturb  tteTit 
of  his  majesty;  but  I  cannot  help  it ;  I  must  needs  sjelkw^' 


m: 


HISTOEY   OF   THE 


848 

"  Ho  was  asked  whether  he  was 
him,  and  that  at  once.  He^^s.^^^.  j  j^^^g  put  guards 
authorized  by  the  commissioners^  ivil  men  who  do  not  fear 
at  their  doors,  and  my  orde-  come  Jo-  men -^  but  he  abso- 
them."  They  -^^^^^^^^^^  Zl^ln  to  open  the  door; 
lutely  refused.     Some  h^s^W"  ^  ^    ^^e  quarrel,  rang, 

he  grew  angry.     i"f  """S'.j  f    „,i„;,tpd      Joyce  entered, 
and'gave  orders  that  he  should  be  admmed  J  j.^^  ^  ^^^^^ 

uncovered,  but  his  pistol  sliU  in   »'«"*'     ;     j^e  presence 

you  have  promised  me."  drawn  up  on  horse- 

^  Next  morning,  at  six,  Joyce  s  men  v^e"'  ^m^  J  ,      ,f  the 
back  in  the  castle  yard.     The  king  aPPfiJ^^"  *^  j^yce 

stairs,  followed  by  *^commi.io^^^^^^ 

came  forward.        Mr-  Joyce,    ^a  ^  ^^^^  ^^^ 

you,  by  What  authority  you  P-^  ^"^VbyTuThori^y  of  the  army, 

from  this  place  1  »ir,  \"""  „^:.„-'™ho  would  once  more 

to  prevent  the  designs  of  lU  enemies  who  w^^  ^^^^^^ 

plunge  the  kingdom  in  Wood.  iii «  i  h  ^^^^^ 

f  acknowledge  no  other  >"  England  than  my^o^.^^,^  ^^^^^^ 
mine,  that  of  the  parliament.  ^^^^/^^^^  f,„„  the  army, 
from  sir  Thomas  Fairfax  ?  1  n^J\°       „     ..  xhat  is  no 

and  the  general   is  comprised  m  the  a™y-        .  ^  ^ 

answer  ;^he  general  .^j'>{J^^^:r'4;^l  I^y^  ;vill  quLion 
written  warrant  t  1  oeg  tn«  ;^    ^„„^.X  "     «  Come,  Mr. 

me  no  further  ;  1  have  already  said  enough.  ^^^.^ 

Joyce,  be  frank  with  me  ;  tf  m«.  jif  ^.  ^Lre."  "  But 
sion?"  "  There  It  IS  sir  '  ^''^^y^  inted  to  his  «.!• 
where  V  "  There,  behind  me  '  ""^-^^^^liP:'"..  ^^  instruc 
diers.  "  Believe  me,"  said  the  k'ng-  ~8'  ,^^  t,„iy  a  fair 
tions  are  written  in  very  l^g'^e  character.  ^  ^f    „per 

commission  ;  you  have  a  company  o^  as  han  ;  H^^^^^ 

gentlemen  as  I  have  seen  a  g^^^t  wMe.     Buiy  ^^  ^^^ 

fhat,  to  f  e  -  h^  J^-f^^^^^^^^^^^  nofhing  shall 

promise  1  shall  be  treaiea  wuu       j;      '  =  _„«  or  my   honor. 

le  required  of  me   ^^'"'N «Tmed    aU    the    ^Miel.     "  We 
"Nothing!    nothing  .exclaimed   all    the^  ^^^^^  ^^^ 

should  be  most  unwilling,    s^'O -"oyce  ■    ty  "     "  Now, 

against  their  conscience,  much  less  your  majesty. 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


349 


gentlemen,  for  the  place  you  intend  to  have  me  to  ?"  "  To 
Oxford,  sir,  if  you  please."  "  No,  the  air  is  not  good." 
"Then  to  Cambridge."  "No,  I  would  rather  go  to  New- 
market ;  it  is  an  air  that  always  agreed  with  me."  "  As  you 
please,  sir."  As  the  king  was  retiring,  the  commissioners 
advanced  a  few  steps  towards  the  troop :  "  Gentlemen,"  said 
lord  Montague,  "  we  are  here  in  trust  from  both  houses,  and 
desire  to  know  whether  you  all  agree  to  what  Mr.  Joyce  has 
said?"  "All,  all!"  "Let  those,"  said  major-general 
Brown,  "  who  wish  the  king  should  remain  with  us,  say  so." 
"None,  none!"  was  the  reply.  Their  powerlessness  thus 
manifested,  the  commissioners  submitted  ;  three  of  them  got 
into  the  carriage  with  the  king,  the  others  mounted  their 
horses,  and  Joyce  gave  the  word  to  march.* 

A  messenger  was  despatched  at  the  same  moment  to  Lon- 
don,  bearing  a  letter  in  which  Joyce  announced  to  Cromwell 
that  all  had  succeeded.     If  he  did  not  find  Cromwell  in  Lon- 
don, the  messenger  was  to  deliver  the  letter  to  sir  Arthur 
Haslerig,  and,  in  his  absence,  to  colonel  Fleetwood.     It  was 
Fleetwood  who  received  it  ;f  Cromwell  was  at  head-quarters, 
with  Fairfax,  who  was  greatly  troubled  when  he  heard  what 
had  taken  place.     "  I  do  not  like  it,"  he  said  to  Ireton  ;  "  who 
gave  such  orders  ?"     "  I  ordered,"  replied  Ireton,  "  that  the 
king  should  be  secured  at  Holmby,  but  not  that  he  should  be 
carried  away."     "  It  was  quite  necessary,"  said  Cromwell, 
who  at  that  moment  arrived  from  London,  "  or  the  king  would 
have  been  taken,  and  had   back  to  parliament."     Fairfax  at 
once  sent  colonel   Whalley  with  two  regiments  of  horse  to 
meet  the  king,  an6  take  him  back   to  Holmby  ;  Charles  re- 
fused to  return,  protesting  against  the  violence  to  which  he 
had  been  subjected,  but,  in  reality,  well  pleased  to  change  his 
prison,  and  that  discord  prevailed  among  his  enemies.     Two 
days  after,  Fairfax   himself,  and  all   his  staff,  Cromwell,  Ire- 
ton, Skippon,  Hammond,  Lambert,  and  Rich,  presented  them- 
selves to  him  (June  7)  at  Childersley,  near  Cambridge.    Most 
of  them,  Fairfax  being  the  first,  respectfully  kissed  his  hand ; 
Cromwell  and  Ireton  alone  kept  apart.     Fairfax  protested  to 
the  king  that  he  had  known  nothing  about  his  removal.     "  I 

*  Rushworth,  i.,4,  502,  513—517  ;  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  588—601 ;  Her- 
bert, 17—24;  Ludlow,  82. 

t  Holies,  Memoirs,  97  ;  Huntingdon,  Memoirs,  312. 

30 


( 


r  — 


m 


850 


HISTORY  OF   THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


351 


will  not  believe  it,"  said  Charles,  "  unless  you  have  Joyce 
forthwith  hanged."*  Joyce  was  summoned:  "I  told  the 
king,"  said  he,  "  that  1  had  no  warrant  from  the  general ;  I 
acted  by  order  of  the  army  ;  let  the  army  be  assembled  ;  if 
three  parts  of  them  do  not  approve  of  what  I  have  done,  I 
consent  to  be  hanged  at  the  head  of  my  regiment."  Fairfax 
talked  of  having  him  tried  by  a  court-martial,  but  to  no  pur- 
pose.  "  Sir,"  said  the  king  to  him,  when  he  left  him,  "  I 
have  as  good  interest  in  the  army  as  you  ;"  and  he  desired  to 
be  taken  back  to  Newmarket.  Colonel  Whalley  here  took 
up  his  quarters  with  him ;  Fairfax  returned  to  head-quarters, 
and  Cromwell  to  Westminster,  where,  for  the  last  four  days, 
all  had  been  wondering  at  his  absence. f 

He  found  both  houses  a  prey  to  sudden  alternations  of  an- 
ger  and  fear,  decision  and  weakness.  The  first  news  that  the 
king  was  carried  off  caused  general  dismay  ;  Skippon,  whom 
the  presbyterians  persisted  in  regarding  as  one  of  their  party, 
moved,  in  a  lamentable  tone,  that  a  solemn  fast  should  be  or- 
dained, to  obtain  from  the  Lord  the  restoration  of  harmony 
between  the  parliament  and  the  army  ;  and  meanwhile  it  was 
voted,  on  the  one  hand,  that  a  considerable  sum  on  account  of 
arrears  should  be  advanced  forthwith,  and,  on  the  other, 
that  the  declaration  which  had  treated  the  first  petition  from 
the  officers  as  seditious,  should  be  rescinded  and  erased  from 
the  Journals  (June  5).:j:  Further  information,  however,  by 
exciting  indignation,  restored  some  degree  of  courage  to  the 
parliament ;  they  received  from  the  commissioners  details  of 
what  had  taken  place  at  Holmby  ;  they  became  acquainted 
with  the  letter  from  Joyce  to  Cromwell  ;  they  even  thought 
they  knew  exactly  on  what  day,  at  head-quarters,  in  a  confer- 
ence between  some  officers  and  the  principal  agitators,  this 
audacious  coup-de-main§  had  been  planned  and  decided  upn 
at  Cromwell's  instigation.  When  the  lieutenant-general  re- 
appeared  in  the  house,  their  suspicions  were  given  utterance 
to ;  he  repelled  with  vehemence,  calling  God,  angels,  men  to 
witness,  that  up  to  that  day  Joyce  was  as  unknown  to  him  as 

•  Huntingdon,  Memoirs,  153. 

t  Rushworth,  i.,4,  545,  549;  Herbert,  25;  Warwick  (1701),  299, 

Fairfax,  116. 

I  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  592,  597;  Holies,  Memoirs,  132. 
§  According  to  Holies,  96,  it  was  on  the  30th  of  May. 


the  light  of  the  sun  to  the  unborn  child.*     None  the  less  for 
that,  the   conviction  of  Holies,   Glynn,  and   Grimstone,   re- 
mained  unshaken,  and  they  sought  everywhere   for  proofs, 
resolved  to  take  the  first  opportunity  of  moving  his  arrest. 
One  morning,  a  little  before  the  house  met,  two  officers  waited 
upon  Grimstone.     "  Not  long  since,"  said  they,  "  was  dis- 
cussed, in  an   assembly  of  officers,  whether  it  would  not  be 
well  to  purge  the  army,  so  as  to  have  there  only  men  in  whom 
confidence  could  be  placed  ;  *  I  am  sure  of  the  army,'  Crom- 
well said,  on  the  occasion,  '  but  there  is  another  body  which 
it  is  far  more  urgent  to  purge,  the  house  of  commons — and 
the  army  alone  can  do  this.'  "     "  Will  you  repeat  these  words 
to  the  house  ?"  asked  Grimstone.     "  We  are  ready  to  do  so," 
answered  the  officers ;  and  they  accompanied  him  to  West- 
minster.    The  house  was  sitting  :  a  debate  was  begun  :  "  Mr. 
Speaker,"  said  Grimstone,  as  soon  as  he  entered,  "  I  move 
that  this  debate  be  adjourned  ;  I  have  a  much  more  urgent  mat- 
ter to  put  to  it,  a  far  graver  question,  a  question  affecting  our 
liberty,  our  very  existence  ;"  and  he  forthwith  charged  Crom- 
well, who  was  present,  with  intending  to  employ  the  army 
against  the  parliament.     "  My  witnesses  are  here,"  he  said ; 
"I  move  that  they   be  admitted."      The  two  officers  came, 
and  repeated  their  statement.     They  were  no  sooner  with- 
drawn than  Cromwell  arose,  and,  falling  on  his  knees,  after 
a  passion  of  tears,  with  a  vehemence  of  sobs,  words,  and  ges- 
tures that  filled  the  whole  assembly  with   emotion  or  asto- 
nishment,  poured  forth  invocations  and  fervent  prayers,  in- 
voking upon  his  head  every  curse  of  God,  if  any  man  in  the 
kingdom   was  more    faithful  than  he  to  the  house.      Then, 
rising,  he  spoke  for  more  than  two  hours  of  the  king,  the 
army,  of  his  enemies,   of  his  friends,   of  himself;  touching 
upon  and  mixing  up  all  things ;  humble  and  audacious,  ver- 
bose and  impassioned,  earnestly  repeating,  again  and  again, 
that  he  was  unjustly  assailed,  compromised  without  reason  ; 
that,   with   the   exception  of  a  few   men    whose  eyes  were 
turned  towards  the  land  of  Egypt,  officers  and  soldiers,  all 
were  devoted  to  him,  and  easy  to  keep  under  his  command. 
In  a  word,  such  was  his  success,  that  when  he  sat  down,  the 
ascendency  had  altogether  gone  over  to  his  party,  and  "  if 

*  Harris,  Life  of  Cromwell,  97,  in  the  note. 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


353 


352 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


he  had  pleased,"  as  Grimstone  himself  said,  thirty  years 
afterwards,  *'the  house  would  have  sent  us  to  the  Tower, 
me  and  my  officers,  as  calumniators."* 
f  But  Cromwell  was  too  wise  to  be  eager  for  revenge,  too 
clear-sighted  to  deceive  himself  respecting  the  real  value  of 
his  triumph.  He  immediately  saw  that  such  scenes  could  not 
be  repeated,  and  the  very  same  evening  secretly  left  London, 
joined  the  army  assembled  at  Tripole  Heath  (June  lO),t  near 
Cambridge,  and  laying  aside  towards  the  presbyterians  and 
the  house  that  disguise  which  he  felt  could  no  longer  be  main- 
tained, even  with  his  hypocrisy,  placed  himself  openly  at  the 
head  of  the  independents  and  the  soldiers. 

A  few  days  after  his  arrival,  the  army  was  on  its  march  to 
London  ;  a  solemn  engagement  to  maintain  their  cause  to  the 
last  had  been  subscribed  by  all  the  regiments  ;  under  the  title 
of  an  humble  representation,  they  had  addressed  to  parliament 
(June  14),  no  longer  merely  the  picture  of  their  own  griev- 
ances, but  the  haughty  expression  of  their  views  as  to  public 
affairs,  the  constitution  of  parliament,  the  elections,  the  right 
of  petition,  the  general  reform  of  the  state.:]:  Finally,  to  these 
unprecedented  demands  was  joined  a  project  of  impeachment 
against  eleven  membei*s  of  the  commons,  Holies,  Stapleton, 
Maynard,  &;c.,§  the  enemies  of  the  army,  as  they  said,  and 
the  sole  cause  of  the  fatal  mistakes  into  which  parliament  had 
fallen  respecting  it. 

The  presbyterians  had  foreseen  the  blow,  and  sought  before- 
hand to  shield  themselves  against  it.  For  the  last  fortnight 
they  had  been  using  every  effort  to  excite  in  their  favor  the 
people  of  the  city  :  complaints  had  been  made  of  the  taxes  on 
salt  and  meat :  they  were  abolished  (June  11  and  25)  ;||  the 
apprentices  had  protested  against  the  suppression  of  religious 
festivals,  particularly  that  of  Christmas,  hitherto  always  a  pe- 
riod of  merriment  all  over  England  :  days  of  public  recreation 
were  appointed  to  take  their  place  (June  8)  ;ir  there  was  still 

*  Burnet,  i.,  77.  t  Holies,  99.  X  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  564. 

§  Denzil  Holies,  sir  Philip  Stapleton,  sir  William  Lewis,  sir  John 
Clotworthy,  Sir  William  Waller,  sir  John  Maynard,  Glynn,  Anthony 
Nichols,  major-general  Massey,  and  colonels  Waller,  Long  and  Harley 
(ib.,  570). 

II  Whitelocke,  252  ;  Rushworth,  i.  4,  592.  . 

IT  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  594;  Whitelocke,  251—254;  Rushworth,  i.  4, 
460,  548. 


a  general  clamor  agamst  the  rapacity  of  a  crowd  of  members 
the  accumulation  of  offices,  indemnities,  profits  on  ^qm 
tions ;  the  commons  voted  that  no  member  should  henceforth 
accept  any  lucrative  office,  or  gift,  or  assigneeship  of  the 
estates  of  dehnquents,  and  even  that  they  should  return  into 
he  pubhc  treasury  the  sums  they  had  already  received,  and 
that  the  r  lands  should  be  subjected  to  the  common  law  for  the 

ETad  h  ^'"  ^'^^  (^""^   '^>  '*  ^^^'^y^  ^he  committee 
which  had  been  appointed  to  receive  the  complaints  of  citizens, 

ttin^C  W  3).'r^  ^  ''  ^''  ^^^^^^^^^^  -  ^  --  vigorous 

But  the  day  was  come  in  which  concessions  were  no  longer 

a  proof  of  anythmg  but  distress,  and  in  which  parties  only 

acknowledged  their  faults  to  expiate  them.     The  city  detested 

'^.:fTfir'%^'''-^'''''^  them;  towards  the  p  e^sbytrtn 
chiefs  it  felt  a  devotion  devoid  of  respect  or  confidence  as 
towards  decried  and  vanquished  mastel-s.  For  awhTthese 
measures  seemed  to  produce  some  effect:  the  common  coun! 
cil  declared  their  firm  design  to  support  parliament  (June  10)  i 
a  few  squadrons  of  citizens  were  formed ;  the  militia  wi^e 
recruited;  the  disbanded  officers  came  in^rowds  o  Lribe 

tionl  TT/'  ^^'''^^'^  ^""^^'^'  ^"d  Holles's ;  prepara! 
tions  for  defence  were  made  round  London  ;&  parliament 
voted  (June  11)  that  the  army  should  be  called  u^rto  reTre 

7Zl\'^"  '"^'r^^  commissioners,  and  thaThis  mies: 
t^  should  be  requested  to  reside  at  Richmond  under  the  protec 
tion  of  parliament  alone  (June    15).||     But  the   army  conti 
nued  to  advance      Fairfax'  wrote  iJ  L  name  to  the  c^ommon 
couneil  (June  11  and   14),f  complaining  of  their  allowing 

ng  reply,  assigning  its  fears  as  an  excuse,  and  protesting  that 
If  the  army  would  retire,  and  consent  to  remain  quartered 

JuLTp  JT^  *^ri°"'  .^"  di««^»«ions  would  so^n  cease 
too  ?1  fi?  .  uK  /^^'^^^  answered,  that  this  letter  came 
too  late ;  that  his  head-quarters  were  already  at  St.  Albans, 
and  that  a  month's  pay  was  absolutely  necessary.ff     Parlia- 

1 1^""]'  5'-^t'  '.^^'  ^^^  •  Whitelocke,  255.         f  Rushworth   i    4  500 

I  Pari   Hist.,  m.,  600  ;  Whitelocke,  251  ^nworm,  i.,  4,  500. 

II  Pari  Hist,  m.,  614.  .^ju    fiofi^^^Q 

rt  Rushworth,  1.,  4,  560;  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  613 
30* 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH   BEVOLUTION. 


354 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


855 


\^ 


ment  voted  the  pay,  and  insisted  upon  a  retrograde  movement 
(June  15  and  21.)*     The  army  required  that  the  eleven  mem- 
bers, its  enemies,   should  first  be  expelled  from  parliament 
(June  23).t     The  commons  could  not  resolve  to  deal  them- 
selves, with  their  own  hands,  so  heavy  a  blow  ;  the  point  had 
already  been  several  times  brought  under  discussion,  but  the 
majority  had  always  answered  that  a  vague  accusation,  with- 
our  facts  to  support  accusations,  without  proofs  to  make  out 
the  facts,  could  not  deprive   members  of  parliament  of  their 
rights4     "  The  first  accusation  against  lord  Strafford,    urged 
the  army,  "  was  also  vague  and  entirely  general  ;  as  you  did 
then,  we  will  do  now,  furnish  our  proofs  afterwards  ;    §  and 
it  still  advanced.     On  the  26th  of  June  its  head-quarters  were 
at  Uxbridge.     The  city  dispatched  commissioners  to  it,  but 
with  no  effect.     The  alarm  increased  every  day  ;  already  the 
shops  were  kept  shut,  and  the  eleven  members  were  bitterly 
animadverted  upon  for  an  obstinacy  so  deeply  compromising 
for  parliament  and  the  city.     They  readily  understood  this 
language  ;  and  offered  themselves  to  retire.     Their  devotion 
was  accepted  with  eager  gratitude  (June  26)  ;||  and  the  very 
day  of  their  retirement,  the  commons  voted  that  they  adopted 
all  the  proceedings  of  the  army,  would  provide  for  its  support, 
that  commissioners  should  be  appointed  to  regulate  in  concert 
with  those  of  the  army  the  affairs  of  the  kingdom  ;  that  in  the 
meantime  the  king  should  be  requested  not  to  come  to  Rich- 
mond   as  it  had  lately  been  desired,  and  that  in  any  case  he 
should  not  reside  nearer  London  than  the  head-quarters  of  the 
army.lT     On  these  conditions  Fairfax  drew  back  a  few  miles, 
and  appointed  ten  commissioners  to  treat  with  those  of  parlia- 
ment (June  30  and  July  1).** 

When  the  king  heard  of  these  resolutions,  he  was  preparing 
to  set  out  for  Richmond,  according  to  the  desire  of  parliament, 
or  at  least  to  attempt  to  do  so,  for  since  that  wish  had  been 

♦  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  631—639.  t  JJ^-' 64'^-;?^9-   .    ,., 

I  Holies,  119,  &c.  ;  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  653.        §  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  594. 

II  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  654;  Holies,  124;  Clarendon,  State  Papers,  n., 
App.,  xxxviii. 

IT  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  656.  ^,  .    .  ^^^^ 

-Rushworth,  i.,  4,  596  ;  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  661.     The  commissioners 

appointed  by  the  army  were,  Cromwell,  Ireton,  Fleetwood,  Ramsbo- 

roueh,  Harrison,  sir  Hardress  Waller,  Rich,  Hammond,  Lambert,  and 

Desborough. 


expressed,  he  had  been  the  object  of  the  closest  surveillance, 
had  been  dragged,  as  it  were,  from  town  to  town  after  the 
army,  and  at  every  halting-place  found  a  number  of  guards 
placed  round  his  lodgings.     He  had  manifested  great  indig- 
nation  at  this :  "Since  my  parliament,"  he  said,  "  asks  me  to 
go  to  Richmond,  if  any  one  offers  to  prevent  me,  it  must  be  by 
force  and  by  seizing  my  bridle-rein  ;  and  for  him  that  may 
dare  attempt  this,  it  shall  not  be  my  fault  if  it  be  not  the  last 
action  of  his  life."*     When   he  learned  that  the  parliament 
Itself  opposed  his  departure,  that  it  had  conceded  everythintr 
to  the  army,  and  was  negotiating  with  it  as  with  a  conqueror^ 
he  smiled  contemptuously  at  this  humiliation  of  his  first  ad- 
versaries, and  hastened  to  give  another  direction  to  his  in- 
trigues.    Save  the  measures  taken  to  prevent  his  escape,  he 
had  no  matter  of  complaint  against  the  army ;  the  officers 
were  as  respectful  towards  him  and  far  more  complaisant  than 
the  commissioners  of  parliament.     Two  of  his  chaplains,  doc- 
tors Sheldon  and  Hammond,  had  been  allowed  to  live  with 
him,  and  freely  to  do  spiritual  duty  according  to  the  rites  of 
the  episcopal  church  ;  his  old  servants,  even  the  cavaliers  who 
had  been  lately  in  arms,  were  no  longer  indiscriminately  for- 
bidden  access  to  him  ;  the   duke  of  Richmond,  the  earl  of 
Southampton,  the  marquis  of  Hertford,  obtained  leave  to  visit 
him  ;  the  leaders  of  the  army  seemed  to  take  great  pleasure 
m  showing  the  royalist  noblemen  that  they  were  capable  of 
tempering  power  with  generosity  ;  and  even  in  the  inferior 
ranks,  the  military  spirit  repelled  those  minute  precautions, 
those  petty  rigors,  from  which,  at  Newcastle  and  Holmby,  the 
king  had  so  often   been  a  sufferer.f     Since  the  surrender  of 
Oxford,  his  youngest  children,  the  duke  of  York,  the  princess 
Elizabeth,  and  the  duke  of  Gloucester,  had  resided  either  at 
^>t.  James's  Palace  or  Sion  House,  near  London,  under  the 
charge  of  the  earl  of  Northumberland,  to  whom  parliament 
had  entrusted  them.     Charles  expressed  a  wish  to  see  them, 
and  Fairfax  at  once  urged  the  request  officially  upon  parlia- 
ment.    "  Who,  if  he  can  imagine  it  to  be  his  own  case,"  he 
said,  "  cannot  but  be  sorry  if  his  majesty's  natural  affection  to 

•\v?Ji^^^"'   ^"  ^  ^^^^^  ^  ^^^"^'  ^^^"^^  "°^  b^  complied 
with  ?  if     The  interview  took  place  (July  15)  at  Maidenhead, 

*  Huntingdon,  Memoirs.  f  Herbert,  passim. 

I  His  letter  was  of  the  8th  of  July ;  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  679. 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


356 


HISTOEY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH  REVOLUTION. 


357 


amidst  a  large  concourse  of  people,  who  strewed  with  ever- 
Teenl  Tnd  flowers  the  roads  by  which  the  royal  family  came 
fomeet  each  other ;  and  far  from  conceiving  any  anger  or 
distmst  at^ht,  officers  and  soldiers,  touched,  m  common  wUh 
The  oeoote  bv  the  happiness  of  the  father  at  the  sight  of  his 
chiin  perm  tted  him  to  take  them  with  him  to  Caversham, 
where  he  then  resided,  and  keep  them  for  two  days.*     Some 
Tf  them    moreover,  Cromwell   and  Ireton  in  particular  too 
laShted  to  flatt^'  themselves  that  their  struggle  with  the 
presbjlf rians  was  at  an  end  and  their  victory  ---.Jf  ;- 
calculatine  all  the  chances,  uneasy  respecting  the  tuture,  and 
:  SS  the  various  aspects  which  the  app-c^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
miaht  assume  put  it  to  one  another  whether  the  tavor  oi  me 
Wnl  restored' to  authority  by  their  hands,  would  not  be  the 
besfs^curTy  for  their  paAy,'the  surest  means  of  fortune  and 

P°  Tt'lmrr/Ihfs^disposition  of  things,  of  the  attentions 
paid  bv  thTarmy  to  the  king,  of  the  advances  made  to  him 
Ty  some  of  its  leaders,  soon 'spread  throughout  the  kingdo. 
The  conditions  offered  him  were  even  stated,  and  Pamphle^ 
4ere  circulated,  some  praising,  "the-,  "^'"g  *^^^7,>^ 
The  leaders  thought  it  necessary  officially  to  contradict  ttese 
renorts  and  even  to  demand,  in  a  tone  of  anger,  the  punish- 
meCf  their  authors  (July  1).*     But  the  nego  .at.n^  - 
the  kins  were  none  the  less  continued.     Ihe  otticers  were 
respectful    courteous,  assiduous  in  their  attentions  ;  familiar 
7i:^Me2y  intercourse  was  established  between  ^^^^^ 
the  cavaliers,  as  between  men  who,  having  honorably  ioup^^^ 
each  other  now  only  desired  to  live  in  peace.      1  he  king  mm 
Ll  Afrote  to  the  queen  on  the  subject  with  some  confidence 
Tud  Thetew  hope's  soon  became  the  -^^  ^ic  of  coiw^ 
with  the  few  emigrants  who  had  followed  her  to  Fans,  or  nau 
Tou^ht  refuge  in  Normandy,  at  Rouen,  Caen,  or  Dieppe.   J  u) 
men,  in  particular,  occupied  themseWes  m  «P-^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
telligence' abroad,  carefully  making  it  ^ear  that J^hey  kne^ 
morl  about  the  matter  than  they  thought  fit  ^  explain,  ana 
Tat  no  one  could  render  in  this  affair  such  -PJ^ff  ^^^ 
to  the  king  as  themselves.     One  of  them,  sir  John  bemey, 
had  valiantly  defended  himself  in  Exeter,  and  had  not  sur. 


•  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  625  ;  Clarendon,  iii.,  86. 
t  Huntingdon,  Memoirs,  155. 


N 


tParl.  Hist.,  w<««;». 


rendered  the  place  till  three  weeks  before  the  king  fled  to  the 
Scottish  camp ;  the  other,  Ashburnham,  had  only  quitted  the 
king  at  Newcastle,  to  escape  the  effects  of  the  animosity  borne 
him  by  parliament ;  both  vain,  boasting  intriguers,  Berkley 
with  most  courage,  Ashburnham  more  crafty,  and  possessing 
more  influence  over  the  king.     Berkley,  by  chance,  Ash- 
burnham, by  order  of  Charles  himself,  had  had  some  cor- 
respondence with  a  few  of  the  principal  officers,  enough,  in 
their  opinion,  to  boast  of  and  profit  by.     The  queen  received 
all  their  assurances  without  hesitation ;  and  by  her  orders,  in 
the  beginning  of  July,  they  both  set  out,  a  few  days  after  each 
other,  to  present  themselves  to  the  king  and  the  army  as  ne- 
gotiators.*    Berkley  was  no  sooner  landed,  than  a  cavalier  of 
his  acquaintance,  sir  Allen  Apsley,f  came  to  meet  him,  sent 
by  Cromwell,  Lambert,  and  some  others,  to  assure  him  that 
they  had  not  forgotten  their  conversation  with  him  after  the 
taking  of  Exeter,  nor  his  excellent  counsels,  and  that  they 
were  ready  to  benefit  by  them,  and   pressed  him  to  hasten. 
On  receiving  this  message,  proud  to  find  himself  of  more  im- 
portance than  even  he  himself  had  imagined,  Berkley,  stop- 
ping but  a  moment  in  London,  pressed  on  to  head-quarters,  at 
this  time  at  Reading.     He  had  only  been  there  three  hours, 
when  Cromwell  sent  to  apologize  for  not  being  able  to  visit 
him  at  once  :  and  the  same  day,  at  ten  in  the  evening,  Berkley 
heard  Cromwell,  Rainsborough,  and  sir  Hardress  Waller  an- 
nounced.    All   three  made   protestations   of  their   good   in- 
tentions towards  the  king,  Rainsborough  drily,  Cromwell  with 
expressions  of  deep  feeling :  "  I  have  just  witnessed,"  said  he, 
"the  most  touching  spectacle,  the  interview  of  the  king  with 
his  children ;  no  one  has  been  more  deceived  than  I  about  his 
majesty  ;  he  is,  I  am  now  sure  of  it,  the  best  man  in  the  three 
kingdoms;  for  our  parts,  we  are  infinitely  indebted  to  him;  we 
had  been   ruined,  utterly  undone,  had  he  accepted  the  pro- 
posals of  the  Scots   at  Newcastle.     May  God  deal  out  his 
goodness  to  me  according  to  the  sincerity  of  my  heart  towards 
his  majesty  !"     According  to  him,  the  officers  were  all  con- 
vinced  that  if  the  king  did  not  resume  possession  of  his  just 
rights,  no  man  in  England  could  enjoy  in  security  his  life  and 
property  ;  and  a  decisive  step  on  their  part  would  soon  leave 


•* 


( 


I 


*  Clarendon,  iii.,  81. 


t  Mrs.  Hutchinson*s  brother. 


358 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


359 


no  doubts  on  his  majesty's  mind  of  their  true  sentiments. 
Berkley,  perfectly  delighted,  procured  next  morning  an  au- 
dience  of  the  king,  and  gave  him  an  account  of  this  interview. 
Charles  received  it  coldly,  as  one  who  had  often  received 
similar  overtures,  and  put  no  trust  in  them,  or  wished,  at  all 
events,  by  his  reserve,  to  have  his  belief  purchased  at  a  valua- 
ble rate.  Berkley  retired  confounded,  but  thinking,  not  with- 
out  some  resentment,  that  the  king,  who  knew  him  but  little, 
perhaps  entertained  some  prejudice  against  him,  and  that  Ash- 
burnham,  who  would  shortly  arrive,  would  be  more  success- 
ful.  Meanwhile,  he  continued  his  negotiations  with  the  army ; 
the  officers  crowded  around  him,  and  even  the  common  agi- 
tators, some  the  friends  and  creatures  of  Cromwell,  others  who 
mistrusted  him  and  advised  Berkley  to  be  on  his  guard  against 

him "  For,"  said  they,  "  he  is  a  man  on  whom  no  one  can 

rely,  and  who  changes  his  conduct  and  language  every  day 
to  every  person,  wholly  absorbed  with  the  desire  of  being  at 
all  events,  let  what  may  occur,  the  leader  of  the  successful 
party."    Ireton,  however,  Cromwell's  most  intimate  confidant, 
seemed  to  Berkley  to  act  with  perfect  fairness  and  candor;  he 
communicated  to  him  the  proposals  that  the  general  council 
of  officers  was  preparing,  and  even  adopted  some  alterations 
that  he  suggested.     Nothing  so  moderate  had  hitherto  been 
offered  to  the  king :  they  required  that  he  should  give  up  for 
ten  years  the  command  of  the  militia  and  the  nomination  to 
the  great  offices  of  state  :  that  seven  of  his  councillors  should 
remain  banished  from  the  kingdom  :  that  all  civil  and  coercive 
power  should  be  withdrawn  from  the  presbyterian  bishops  and 
ministers ;  that  no  peer  created  since  the  outbreak  of  the  war 
should  be  allowed  to  take  his  seat  in  the  house ;  that  no  cavalier 
should  be  admitted  a  member  of  the  next  parliament.     "  It  is 
necessary,"  said  Ireton,  "  that  some  difference  should  exist 
and  appear  between  the  conquered  and  the  conquerors.      But 
to  these  conditions,  much  less  exacting  than  those  of  parlia- 
ment,  was  not  added  the  obligation  of  abolishing  the  episcopal 
church,  nor  that  of  ruining  the  majority  of  the  royalists  by 
enormous  fines,  nor  the  legal  interdiction,  so  to  speak,  ot  the 
king  and  his  party  during  the  pleasure  of  the  parliament. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  army,  it  is  true,  required  reforms  not 
previously  demanded,  and,  in  reality  of  a  still  graver  character: 
a  more  equal  distribution  of  electoral  rights  and  of  public 


taxation  ;  a  change  in  the  civil  procedure,  the  abolition  of  a 
crowd  of  political,  judicial,  and  commercial  privileges ;  in  a 
word,  ihe  introduction  into  the  social  system,  and  into  law,  of 
priciples  of   equality  hitherto   unknown.     But  even  in    the 
thoughts  of  the  proposers,  it  was  not  against  the  king,  his 
dignity  or  power,  that  these  demands  were  directed  ;    none 
deemed  prerogative  interested   in  the  maintenance  of  rotten 
boroughs,  the  scandalous  profits  of  the  lawyers,  or  the  frauds 
of  a  few  debtors.     Berkley,  accordingly,  looked  upon  these 
conditions  as  characterized  by  unhoped-for  lenity ;  never,  in 
his  opinion,  had  a  crown  so  nearly  lost  been  recovered  at  so 
cheap  a  rate.     He  solicited  and  obtained  leave  to  communicate 
them  privately  to  the  king  (about  July  25),  before  they  were 
officially  presented  by  the  army.     His  astonishment  was  still 
greater  than  at  their  first  interview  ;    Charles  considered  the 
conditions  very  hard,  and  spoke  of  them  indignantly :    "  If 
they  really  wished  to  come  to  terms  with  me,"  he  said,  "they 
would  make  propositions  that  I  could  accept."     Berkley  ven- 
tured to  make  a  few  observations,  and  to  urge  the  danger  of  a 
refusal :  "  No,"  said  the  king,  abruptly  breaking  off  the  con- 
versation,  "  without  me  these  people  cannot  extricate  them- 
selves ;    you  will  soon  see  them  too  happy  to  accept  more 
equitable  conditions."* 

Berkley  was  endeavoring  in  vain  to  find  out  the  grounds 
for  such  confidence,  when  the  news  reached  head-quarters 
that  the  most  violent  insurrectionary  excitement  prevailed  in 
the  city,  that  bands  of  citizens  and  apprentices  were  constant- 
ly besieging   Westminster-hall,   that  it  was  expected  every 
hour  parliament  would  be  obliged  to  vote  the  return  of  the 
king  and  the  re-admission  of  the  eleven  members,  resolutions 
most  fatal  to  the  army  and  its  party.     For  the  last  fortnight, 
especially  since  a  leave  of  absence  for  six  months  (July  20)t 
sent  to  the  eleven  members  had  deprived  their  party  of  all 
immediate  hope,  symptoms  more  and  more  threatening,  mobs, 
petitions,  tumultuous  cries,  gave  announcement  of  this  explo- 
sion ;  a  measure  which  was  regarded  on  both  sides  as  decisive, 
caused  it  to  burst  forth.     The  presbyterian  committee,  en- 
trusted for  the  last  two  months  with  the  direction  of  the  Lon- 
don militia,  was  dissolved,  and  the  independents  regained  pos- 

•  Berkley,  Memoirs. 

t  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  712 ;  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  628. 


•   V. 


t  » 


360 


HISTOKY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH   KEVOLUTION. 


361 


V  , 


session  of  that  important  position  July  25).  The  city  could 
^oTresign  itself  to  be  thus  represented  and  commanded  by  its 
enemies  •  in  a  few  hours  the  excitement  became  general ;  a 
pap«  posted  up  in  Skinner's-hall,  containing  an  engagement 
to  ui  every  effort  to  accomplish  the  king's  return  in  honor 
^dlibert/  to  London,  was  instantly  covered  with  an  m 
mense  number  of  signatures ;  upon  the  departure  of  the 
"our  er^or  head-quarters,  copies  oHt  were  dispatched  all  over 
England  ;  a  petition  was  drawn  up  demanding  for  it  the  sane- 
tion  of  mrliament ;  the  disbanded  officers  united  with  the 
people  ;  everything  announced  a  movement  as  general  as  en- 

"The'army  immediately  marched  towards  London  (July 
23)  •  Fairfax  wrote  threatening  letters  in  its  name  ;  m  parlia- 
ment, the  independents,  strengthened  by  this  support  declared 
all  persons  who  should  subscribe  the  engagement  of  the  city 
m  >^  traitors  fJulv  24).  But  these  threats  came  too  late  to 
^eptss "uWic^^^^^^^^^^  ;  on  the  second  day  after  this  a-^- 

ration  early  in  the  morning,  numerous  groups  of  apprentices, 
™nded  okers,  and  watermen,  pressed  around  the  doors  of 
WermTnster.haU     noisy,  abusive,  and  evidently  come  ^vuh 
some  daring  design.     On  taking  their  seats  (J"ly  26),  the 
Trmed  co^monsVdered  the  doors  to  be  dosed,  and  that  n 
member  should  leave  without  permission.      A  petition  was 
then  presented  from  the  common  council,  in   mo^ffte  ^"^ 
respectful  terms,  requesting  that  the  command  of  the  militia 
should  be  restored  to  the  leaders  from  whom  it  had  just  been 
withdrawn,  and  informing  parliament  of  the  '.mpatience  of^he 
people,  but  without  any  appearance  of  a  desire  to  'nt.mutoe 
While  the  house  was  discussing  this  petition,   the   speaker 
received  notice  that  the  multitude  outside  had  another  to  pre- 
^t'two  members  went  out  to  receive  it;  >»  was  read  imme- 
diatelv.     It  expressed  the  same  feelings  as  that  of  the  com 
mon  council,  in  language  much  more  temperate  than  had  been 
anticipated.     But  the  debate  continued,  and  "»  -"^^f^  ^^ 
returned-  the  day  was  drawing  to" a  close;  the  multitude, 

r^d  of  growing  tired,  becami  ^'t'^^f  <*  j  '' \-lP-"fTet 
of  all  the  tvenues  to  the  house  ;  already  the  tumult  of  ieet 

and  voices  rang  through  the  hall;  cries  of  "Let  us  go  m. 
•  Pari.  Hist,  iii..  712;  Rushworth,  i.,  4.  635 ;  Holies,  144,  &c. 


let  us  go  m !  were  heard,  and  violent  blows  shook  the  door 
Several  members  drew  their  swords,  and  for  a  moment  drove 
back  the  assailants.  The  house  of  peers  was  equally  me 
naced ;  some  apprentices  climbed  up  to  the  windows,  and 
hurled  stones  through  them,  quite  ready  to  proceed  to  greater 
extremities  If  they  were  not  heard.  The  members  in  either 
house  resisted  for  a  while  :  at  last,  the  door  of  the  commons 
was  broken  open  ;  the  most  furious  of  the  rioters,  to  the  num! 
ber  of  forty  or  fifty,  rushed  in,  and  with  their  hai  on,  and  the 
most  menacing  gestures,  supported  by  the  crowd  pressing 
behind  them,  exclaimed  :  "  Vote,   vote  .'  "     Parliament  gavf 

r^r^n  V  ''^^''^^T  °I  ^^^  Preceding  day  was  revoked,  and 
the  mihtia  again  placed  under  the  direction  of  the  presbvte 
nan  cornmittee.    The  tumult  seemed  at  an  end ;  the  member 

'Z  «n/'"">  'v  '^"^'^  ^^'^  ^'^  *«  ^hair;  the  mob  seized 
him,  and  made  him  resume  it.  «  What  do  you  require  fur. 
ther?"  asked  he.  "That  the  king  be  desired  to  come  to 
London  fonhwith."  The  proposition^as  immediatolyTut  to 
loud  "No?"*     '^      '  alone  opposed  it  by  a  fi™  an* 

At  this  news,  an  excitement  nearly  as  great  arose  in  thJ 
army,  particularly  in  the  lower  ranks,  among  the  LitetoiJ 
and  soldiers ;  on  all  sides,  the  king  was'  charge^d  whh  S 
w  th  bemg  an  accomplice  in  what  had  takfn  place  Lord 
Lauderdale,  who  had  come  from  London  to  confer  with  him 
dTs  ruTt";!  f  *''  ^°°";*  commissioners,  gave  rise  tol  much 

aS;  Ini  °"h  J"T'^^  ^^°'^  ^^  ^^  "P  ^  P^'rty  of  soldier* 
abruptly  entered  his  bed-room  and  obliged  him  to  depart  im 

who  h':.'^'  ""^.°!l*  ^r  ^^^'"g  "^^  ^'"g-t  AshbSam; 
who  had  arrived  three  days  before,  increased  their  displeasui^ 
and  suspicions  by  his  scornful  insolence ;  he  refused  all 
mtercourse  with  the  agitators:  "I  have  aWays  lived  in  the 
tet  company,"  said  he  to  Berkley ;  "  I  cannof  convert  «^?^ 

thekif  T  ^  '^T'-  '^  ^'\'=°"'<*  «^'"  'he  officers  sure  to 
TJl^'  f''""^*'  ''^'"  ""^  **"  •'^ve  the  whole  army;  and  I 
hoi '  r  '  T^l  "?y«e'f  wholly  to  them."*  Even  among 
those  pfficers  who  had  made  advances  to  the  kins,  several 
now  began  to  hold   themselves  apart :    "  Sir,"  safd  Triton 


88. 


•  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  717,  &c. ;  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  640-644;  Ludlow. 


C: 


t  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  737. 
31 


t 


t  Berkley,  34. 


362 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


363 


I 


..you  assume  to  be  arbiter  between  the  P"!"'!;^^^"^^',^' 
i/we  who  will  be  arbiters  t^meen  you  and  th    P-1— 

Yet  stm  uneasy  ^  '^J^^\^^^^^l  to  him  (Aug.  1)' 
resolved  formally  to  present  ineirHW  conference. 

Ashburnham  and  Bf  rkky  were  present^^  an  ironical  smile 
Charles  was  -Id  and  haugtay,  "  ^ost  alT  of  them  in 
to  the  readrng  of  the  proposals  re;e  ^  ^^^ 

few  words  and  a  ^'tter  tone    as  it  sure  s^ 

well-pleased  to  "ai^'fest  his  d.^P^^a^^J^  j    ^  j.^^^/^  ^^l 

k,ng  of  his  imprudence,  D  _   ^,  ^^^^  ^      ^^ 

proachmg  him,  ^e  whispered    nn  ^^^^  ^  ^^ 

speaks  as  if  you  had  some  secret  strengtt^  ana  p 
not  know  of;  and  since  y°"' "?f].^2 tS  men  t<S''  Charles 
„,e,  I  wish  you  had  ^""^^^^th    a"d  hX^^^^       soften  his 
perceived  hejitd  said  too  ^i^h,  and  ^^^  ^^^^^^^ 

posed  of  themall ..  Zy'^^TTtT^^i^^t  'trust  the 

^TheTfCthaJ  scarcely  -turned  ^  headquarter  w..n 
several  carriages  arrived  from  L""**"" ' /^^mbers  of  toll, 
astonishment  of  the  crowd,  more  *^"J'^»yi;"^^a<l  their  two 
houses  alighted  S^^^^^^^^^^  ,,p,  i  ed 

r  Sy  iad  jS  Wd  from  the  fury  of  the  mob,  and  had 

t  lb.,  35.  .  ,, 

*  Berkley,  34.  ^  Unllp^  Dositively  mentions  eigni 

^The  number  is  very  uncertain    H^^^^^ 

lords,  and  fif^-eight  «\«°^^^"  ^n,^  '  C^^^^  °^  *^'  -"i^* 

speaks  of  fourteen  lords  and  ^^^""^^^ll"^^^^  The  call  of  the 

??ons  ;  this  is  also  the  statement  ofWhitelocke  (^     )     ^.^^^^^         ^b- 

house  made  in  the  ^PP«^J^°"^|^.^"  ^fif  ^°27      AU  the  fugitives  did  not 
sence  of  twenty  lords.-Parl.  Hist,  ni.,  7^7.     au  6 

leave  London  together. 


come  to  the  army  for  safety  and  freedom.     The  joy  of  fh. 
thS^^  ''^''^"^'^  u^  communicate  this  melancholy  news  to 

ifCtijl'  ="  '''''■     -"'^  -it th:"peop?JKnI„^ 
oundl  thousands'o7.^''"\^  "'  "  mee.ing^f  the  common 
swore  to  doS  'l^'^fr'  P'"'""*"'*  themselves,  and 
fier   aiainV  wh»,  '•''^  ''''°"'"'  ^S^inst  whatever  dan- 

warkE  Jh        '■;  Tr"'-     "The  inhabitants  of  South, 
were  hH^  •  "'fn.'fested  opposite  sentiments;  but  as  thev 

Ty  a  few  fffi^  "P ',''"''  Pf'"°n  'o  Guildhall,  Poyntz,  f^wed 

they  Zm17'  "^T  *''""  ''r''  ^  '""ghly,  that  'assure^ 
ley  would  not  venture  to  make  another  attempt.     Money 

88*le"'-  "''*••  "'•'  '23-"l ;  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  646;  Ludlow,  Mem 

\ 


•^'^Sfll 


364 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


365 


was  levied,  cannon  placed  on  the  ramparts.     Finally,  the 
W  was  formally  invited  to  return  to  London  ;  and  this  vote 
proclaimed  by  sound  of  trumpet  in  every  street,  was  to  reach 
him  within  a  few  hours,  or  at  the  latest  next  day. 

"I  shall  wait,"  said  the  king  to  Berkeley;  "there  will  be 
time  enough  to  write  this  letter."     Meantime,  a  messenger 
ar^ivedTom  head-quarters  ;  fresh  fugitives  from  Westmm^er 
had  come  to  joinVir  colleagues;  others  had  written  that 
they  should  retire  into  the  country,   and  disavow  this  pre- 
tended  parliament.     Even  in  London,  the  mdependents,  few 
n  num^ber  but  determined,  lost  neither  time  nor  courage  ; 
hey  thwarted,  delayed,  and  weakened  every  measure  they 
couM  not  absolutely  prevent ;  the  money  co  lected  was  but 
slowly  employed  ;  Massey's  recruits  were  without  arms;  a 
tw  pLSL  preachers,  Mr.  Marshall  among  others,  gamed 
ovif  by  \he  army,  exerted  themselves  with  the  people  to 
arouse  their  fears  and  to  inspire  them  with  a  desire  for  recon- 
XTon;  worthy  members  of  parliament  and  of  the  councd 
already   istened  to  them,  flattered  by  the  idea  of  having  the 
honor  to  re-establish  peace.     In  a  word,  Cromwell  sent  word 
to  Ashbumham  that  within  two  days  the  city  would  be  in 

'^'cWles'sfill  hesitated;  he  assembled  his  most  confidenUal 
servants  ;  the  letter  was  composed,  debated  thrown  aside, 
resumed  at  length  he  signed  it  (Aug.  4).$  Ashbumham 
and  Berkley  set  off  with  it%  head-quarters  ;  they  met  on  the 
road  a  second  messenger,  dispatched  by  two  officers,  friend 
of  theirs,  to  urge  its  transmission  with  the  least  possible  delay , 
they  arrived.  The  submission  of  the  city  had  arrived  before 
them.  The  fugitive  members  had  just  reviewed  the  army  on 
Hounslow  Heath  (Aug.  3),  amidst  immense  acclamations ;  it 
was  marching  with  them  at  its  head  towards  London,  certain 
Tf  entering  it  without  obstacle.  The  king's  letter  and  alliance 
were  no  longer  of  any  value  to  conquerors.^ 

On  the  seind  day  after,  the  6th  of  August,  a  brimant  a^^^^ 
formidable  procession  set  out  from  Kensington  ^r  Westmin- 
ster; three  regiments  composed  the  vanguard,  a  fourth  tiie 

•  Rushworth,  i.,  4,  652-656  ;  Pari.  Hist ,  i»o  728 

t  Berkley,  38 ;  Ludlow,  90.  ,,  X  Rushworth,  ii., 4,  753. 

§  Berkley,  39  ;  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  750. 


rear ;  between  them  rode  Fairfax  and  his  staff  on  horseback 
the  fugitive  members  in  their  carriages,  and  behind  them  a 
multitude  of  their  partisans,  eager  to  share  their  triumph.     A 
double  rank  of  soldiers  lined  the  road,  all  with  branches  of 
laurel  in  their  hats,  and  shouting,  "  Long  live  the  parliament ' 
the    free    parliament  !"     At  Hyde  park  they  found  the  lord 
mayor  and  aldermen  come  to  compliment  the  general  on  the 
re-establishment  of  peace  between  the  army  and  the  city  • 
Fairfax  scarcely  answered  them  as  he  passed.     Further  on' 
at  Charing-cross,  the  common  council  in  a    body  presented 
themselves  in  like  manner,  and  had  an  equally  unfavorable 
reception.     Arrived  at  Westminster,  it  was  discovered  that 
most  of  the  presbyterian  leaders  were  flown,  or  had  concealed 
themselves ;  Fairfax  re-established  the  friends  of  the  army  in 
their  seats,  listened  with  an  air  of  modesty  to  their  pompous 
thanks,  heard  a  month's  pay  voted  for  his  troops,  and  then 
went  to  take  possession  of  the  Tower,  of  which  he  had  just 
been  appointed  governor.* 

Two  days  after,  Skippon  in  the  centre  and  Cromwell  in  the 
rear,  the  whole  army  marched  through  London,  grave,  silent, 
in  the  strictest  order ;  no  excesses  were  committed,  not  one 
citizen  received  the  slightest  insult  ;t  the  leaders  desired  at 
once  to  reassure  and  to  awe  the  city.    They  did  not  fail  in  this 
object :  at  the  sight  of  those  armed  men,  so  disciplined  though 
so  haughty  in  their  mien,  so  obedient,  yet  so  threatening,  the 
Presbyterians  shut  themselves  up  in  their  houses,  the  inde- 
pendents  everywhere  resumed  possession  of  power,  the  timid 
crowded  with  eager  confidence  round  the  conquerors.     The 
common  council  solicited  Fairfax  and  his  officers  to  accept  a 
pubhc  dinner.     He  refused  ;  they  only  the  more  hastened  the 
chasing  of  a  golden  ewer  to  be  offered  to  him.:|:     There  was 
even  a  certain  number  of  apprentices  who  came  to  offer  him 
their   congratulations,    and    he    received   them   in   a   formal 
audience,    delighted   to   make   it   appear   that   among   these 
dreaded  youths  also,  the  army  had  its  partisans.§     On  their 
part,  both  houses,  the  lords  more  especially,  made  a  servile 
parade  of  their  gratitude,  and  voted  that  all  that  had  been 
done  during  the  absence  of  the  members  who  had  sought  a 

♦  Rushworth  ii.,  4,  756  ;  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  736,  &c. ;  Holies,  169. 
I  RSrortt  ii.,  4.  |,f  ^^--^^'  "•'  '>  ^'^-^'^  5  Holies,  220. 

31* 


,i;i 

!•'* 


i 


366 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


367 


refuse  with  the  army,  was  of  itself  null  and  void,  without 
anyfperial  repeal  (Aug.  6).*  This  vote  disquieted  the  com 
moLfthey  were  ready  to  prosecute  the  authors  of  the  not 
wS  had  caused  the  secession ;  but  most  of  the  members 
who  had  remained  at  Westminster  had  taken  a  part  m  those 
L  s  which  they  were  now  called  upon  to  declare  absolutely 
vodT  three  times  they  refused  to  yield  this  point  (Aug.  10 
Ind  19).t  Next  day  (Aug.  20),  a  troop  of  horse  encamped 
L  Hyde  park  ;  troops  were  stationed  round  the  house  at  every 
avenue  to  it ;  within,  Cromwell  and  I reton  supported  with 
menaces  the  esolutioi  of  the  lords  ;t  it  was  at  length  adopted  ; 
Tnd  nothing  was  now  wanting  to  the  triumph  of  the  army,  for 
evL  those^who  had  been  subjected  by  it,  proclaimed  its  le- 

G^eJ'this  great  and  facile  success,  the  revolutionary  move- 
M  hitherto  restrained  or  regulated,  even  amoug^theinde 
pendents,  by  the  necessities  of  the  struggle,  soared^ely , 
S  man's^assions,  hopes,   and  dreams  bec^e  bold   and 
openly  declared  themselves.     In  the  higher  ranks  of  the  party 
iA  the  house  of  commons,  in  the  general  council  of  officers, 
Republican  projects  came  forth  plain  and  positive:  already 
for  some  time'  past,  Vane,  Ludlow,  Haslerig,  ^^V^^^f^l^ 
and  Hutchinson,  had  scarcely  answered  when  a^  ^ne  a^' 
Lsed  them  of  hostility  to  monarchy  ;  they  now  openly  spoke 
'of  it  with  contempt ;  the  principle  of  the  sovereignty  of  O^e 
neoDle    and,  in  the  name  of  the  people,  one  sole  assembly 
rppSnted  by  the  people,  now  guided   all  their  actions   an^^ 
:  words  ;    in  their  conversations,  any  idea   of  accommodation 
with  the  king,  no  matter  upon  what  terms,  was  treated  as 
Tr  ason      In  ?he  ranks  below7hem,  among  the  V^o.^JJ^^ 
as  in  the  army,  the  excitement  of  men's  mmds  was  as  general 
Z  it  was  inteL  ;  in  everything,  reforms  till  then  unheard  o 
were  demanded,  on  all  sides  reformers  rose  up  ;  to  thei    wild 
i  desires  no  law  imposed  respect,  no  fact  seemed  an  obstac  e 
all  the  more  confident  and  imperious    in  Foport  ^^   ^^^^^^^^^^^ 
profoundness  of  their  ignorance  and  obscurity,  their  petiUonj 
their  pamphlets  every  day  poured  forth,  hurled  menace  m  all 

♦  Pari.  Hi3t.,  iii.,  745.  nr  f«  o-i   ft*^  to  R*?  and  87  to  84 ; 

t  The  proposition  was  rejected  by  96  to  93,  85  to  «J,  ana  oi 

Pari.  Hist,  lii.,  756— 773.   ^    ,   „.  ^    ...    _,„     -«« 
X  Holies,  Memoirs,  172;  Pari.  Hist.,  ui.,  758— 77J. 


directions  J  Summoned  before  the  judges,  they  brought  the 
judges  themselves  in  question,  and  ordered  them  to  leave  seats 
they  had  usurped  ;  attacked  in  the  churches  by  the  presbyte- 
rian  ministers,  they  rushed  to  the  pulpit,  dragged  from  it  the 
preachers,  and  preached  in  their  place,  sincere  in  the  very 
ravings  they  made  use  of  to  serve  their  passions.     No  power- 
ful and  entire  theory,  no  precise  and  general  plan  presided 
over  this  movement ;  all  of  them  republicans,  these  popular 
champions  carried  their  thoughts  and  wishes  far  beyond  a 
revolution  in  the  government  ;^ey  aimed  at  changing  society 
itself,  the  relations,  manners,  and  feelings  of  the  community ; 
but  in  all  this  their  views  were  narrow  and  confused  ;  some 
spent  their  daring  in  merely  prosecuting  some  important  but 
partial  innovation,  such  as^he  abolition  of  the  privileges  of 
the  lords  or  the  lawyers^  others  were  content  with  some 
pious  dream,  such  as  expeSnng  the  approaching  reign  of  the 
Lord ;  others,  under  the  name  of  rationalists,  claimed  abso- 
lute sovereignty  for  each  man's  reason  ;*£_others  talked  of  in- 
troducing a  strict  equality  of  rights  and  property,  and  these, 
their  enemies' nidbnamed  ievellers.     But  neither  this  decried 
name,  which  they  always  vehemently  rejected,  nor  any  other, 
was  appropriate  to  them  ;    for  they  neither   formed   a  sect 
devoted  to  a  systematic  belief,  nor  a  faction  eager  to  advance 
towards  a  definite  en3J  Citizens  or  soldiers,  visionaries  or 
demagogues,  felt  a  ddSffe  of  innovation,  earnest  but  without 
any  plan  ;  vague  instincts  of  equality,  above  all,  a  rude  spirit 
of  independence ;   such  were  their  common  characteristics ; 
and  inspired  by  an  ambition  short-sighted  but  pure,  perfectly 
intractable  by  all  whom  they  deemed  weak  or  self-interesled, 
they  constituted  in  turn  the  strength  and  the  terror  of  the  dif- 
ferent  parties,  all  successively  compelled  to  make  use  of  and 
to  deceive  them. 

No  one  had  succeeded  as  well  in  doing  the  one  and  the 
other  as  Cromwell ;  no  one  enjoyed  as  he  did  the  confiding 
intimacy  of  those  obscure  but  powerful  enthusiasts.  Every- 
thing in  him  had  found  favor  in  their  eyes ;  the  irregular 
outbursts  of  his  imagination,  his  eagerness  to  make  himself 
the  equal  and  the  companion  of  the  rough  and  boorish,  his 
language  at  once  mystic  and  familiar,  his  manners  by  turns 

*  Clarendon,  State  Papers,  ii.,  Appendix  11. 


i 


368 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


369 


commonplace  and  exalted,  giving  him  at  one  time  the  air  of 
an  inspired  preacher,  and  at  others  that  of  a  plain  peasant, 
even  that  free  and  supple  genius  which  seemed  to  place  a  the 
service  of  a  holy  cause  all  the  resources  of  mundane  ability. 
He  had  sought  and  found  among  them  his  most  useful  agents 
Ayres,    Evanson,    Berry,    Sexby,    Sheppard,    Wildman,    all 
leading  members  of  the  council  of  agitators,  all  ever  ready 
at   a  word  from  the  lieutenant-general  to  stir  up  the  army 
a-ainst  king  or  parliament.     Lilburne  himself,  the  ^ost  un- 
m'anageable  and  least  credulous  of  these  men,  who  had  quitted 
his    regiment  because  he  could    not   obey,  had  the  greatest 
confidence  in  Cromwell :  "  I  have  looked  upon  you,    he  wrote 
to  him,  '^  as  among  the  powerful  ones  of  bngland  as  a  man 
with  heart  perfectly  pure,  perfectly  free  from    all    personal 
views  •"*  and  Cromwell  more  than  once  had  made  use  ot  Ul- 
burne's  courage  against  the  presbyterians.     But   when   the 
ruin  of  the  latter  seemed  accomplished,  when  the  independents 
held  in  their  power  the  king,  the  parliament,  and  the  city, 
when  all  the  revolutionary  passions  and  desires  burst  forth, 
insatiable,  blind,  ungovernable,  the  situation  of  the  leaders  ot 
the  party,  that  of  Cromwell  in  particular,  already  the  object 
to  whom^  all  men's  attention  was  turned  became  affected      In 
their  turn,  they  incurred  distrust  and  felt  fear.     Many  of  heir 
own  party  had  viewed  with  disapprobation  the  negotiations 
entered  into  with  the  king ;  necessity  alone,  the  danger  of 
falling  within  the  power  of  the  presbyterians,  had  dominated 
disgult  and  kept  suspicions  under  constraint.     Now  all  this 
necessity  had  disappeared  ;  the  Lord  had  given  into  the  hands 
of  his  servants  all  his  enemies.     Yet  instead  of  securing  and 
perfecting  the  triumph  of  His  cause,  the  conqueror  continued 
to  live  in  friendship  with,  to  treat  with  the  delinquents.      1  he 
first,  the  most  culpable  of  all,  the  one  on  whose  head  a  lew 
of  the  faithful  had  already,  for  two  years,t  been  invoking 
public  vengeance,  and  who  lately,  in  his  insane  P^de,  had 
rejected  proposals  which  ought  perhaps  never  to  have  been 
made  to  himVthe  king,  far  from  losing  anything  by  the  late 
events,  had  almost  regained  by  them  his  power  and  splendor 
With  the  consent  of  the  generals,   he  had  returned  to  his 

•  Letter  of  March  25th,  1647.  ,     ♦  v,  ^  ^«r«o«^pH  thf»  nun- 

t  As  early  as  May,  1646,  a  few  independents  had  demanded  the  pun 
i3hment  of  the  king,  as  the  greatest  delinquent. -Baillie,  n.,  20y. 


palace  of  Hampton  Court  (Aug.  24),  and  resided  there  amid 
Idolatrous  pomp,  surrounded  by  a  court  more  arrogant  than 
ever.     His  former  councillors,  Richmond,  Hertford,  Capel, 
Southampton,  had  hastened  to  rejoin  him,  as  if  he  were  ak)ut 
to  reassume  the  exercise  of  sovereign  power.*     Ormond  him- 
self,  the  most  dangerous  leader  of  the  royalists  in  Ireland,  he 
who   had  so  lately  kept    up   the   struggle    in  that  kingdom 
against  the  parliament,  and  only  had  at  last,  with  the  greatest 
difficulty,  been  induced  to  surrender  Dublin,  Ormond,  upon 
his  return  to  England,  had  been  received  by  the  general,  the 
lieutenant-general,  by  almost  all  the  leading  personages  of 
the  army,  with  eager  complaisance,!  and  had  free  access  to 
the  king,  doubtless  meditating  with  him  another  insurrection 
in  Ireland.     At  the  same  time,  the  most  active  confidants  of 
the  king,  Berkley,  Ashburnham,  Ford,  and  Apsley,  were  con- 
stantly going  to  and  fro  between  the  court  and  head-quarters  • 
the  doors  of  Cromwell  and  Ireton  were  always  open  to  them 
while  a  number  of  the  well-affected  could  gain  no  admittance 
there.     Cromwell  and  Ireton  themselves,  either  in  person  or 
by  their   messengers,  maintained   an  assiduous   intercourse 
with  the  king  ;  they  had  been  seen  walking  alone  with  him  in 
the  park,  were  known  to  be  often  closeted  with  him.     Even 
their  wives,  Mrs.  Cromwell,  Mrs.  Ireton,  Mrs.  Whalley,  had 
been  presented  at  Hampton  Court,  and  the  king  had  received 
them  with  great  honors.^:     So  much  familiarity  was  scandal- 
ous ;  such  repeated  conference  must  needs  mean  treachery 
t^very  day,  among  the  republicans  and  enthusiasts,  particu- 
larly in  the  meetings  of  the  soldiers,  this  language  was  held, 
liven  from  the  dungeon  of  the  Tower,  where  the  lords  had 
imprisoned  him,  to  repress  if  possible  his  harangues  and  pam- 
phlets, Lilburne  addressed  to  Cromwell  violent  reproaches, 
and  his  letter  finished  with  these  words  :  "  If  you  despise,  as 
hitherto,  my  warnings,  be  sure  I  will  use  against  you  all  the   ■• 
power  and  influence  I  have,  and  so  as  to  produce  in  your  for- 
tune changes  that  shall  little  please  you."§ 

Cromwell  had  small  respect  for  Lilburne's  advice,  and  cared 
not  for  his  threats,  standing  alone,  but  it  was  diffferent  when 
they  were  backed  by  the  anger  of  so  many  of  his  heretofore 

♦  Herbert,  33  ;  Hutchinson,  276.  f  Whitelocke,  267. 

i  S^®?^°">  State  Papers,  ii..  Appendix  11. 
§  This  letter  bears  date  13th  August,  1647. 


370 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


371 


,  ju  ,=  Ponrlv  to  throw  himself,  when  necessary, 
devoted  adherents  R«f^yt°*"^°;  of  intrigue  and  daring 
even  wjth  tementy    into  t^^jortex  ol  mt  g  ^^^^^^^  j^ 

^«;«^>ik  lihprtv   and  promised,  upon  taking  leave,  lo  use 
Sl^SXi**.;  commit...  B  -li"  »«•  •"<*"  ™  "■ 

ronrthev  were  nonidressed  less  to  the  party  than  to  ns 


;  ^^^%CBni^nic^.  Article  Lilburne,  v.  2950. 


Jib. 


of  the  king  s  guards,  the  title  of  earl  of  Essex,  and  the  garter  • 
similar  advantages  were  mentioned  with  reference  to  their 
principal  friends.  Meantime,  two  royalists,  judge  Jenkins 
and  a  cavalier,  sir  Lewis  Dewes,  prisoners  in  the  Tower  with 
Lilburne,  were  continually  talking  with  him  of  the  treaty 
already  concluded,  they  said,  between  the  generals  and  the 
court,  mentioned  its  conditions,  stirred  up  his  suspicions,  and 
urged  him  to  propagate  them.  Merely  suspected,  such  a 
bargain  threw  the  party  into  confusion ;  accepted,  it  would 
assure  the  king  the  support  of  the  leaders,  or  leave  themselves 
without  support.* 

The   two   generals    could   not   be    ignorant    as   to   these 
manoeuvres ;  they  had  surrounded  the  king  with  their  spies  : 
colonel  Whalley,  whose  regiment  had  charge  of  him,  was  the 
cousin  and  creature  of  Cromwell;  the  least  incident  in  the 
king  s  life,  his  walks,  his  conversations,  the  visits  and  the  pro- 
ceedings of  his  councillors,  the  indiscretions  of  his  servants 
were  minutely  reported  to  them  ;t  and  more  than  once  thev 
complained  that  reports  from  Hampton  Court,  spread  abroad 
as  It  by  design,  by  destroying  their  credit  with  the  army 
rendered  them  incapable  of  serving  the  king  in  that  quarter 
Ireton,  m  particular,  of  more  unbending  mind,  and  less  tole 
rant  of  deceit,  was  so  much  displeased,  that  he  was  on  the 
point  of  breaking  off  the  negotiations.     They,  however,  con- 
tinued ;    and  soon  even  the  public  conduct  of  the  generals 
seemed  to  confirm   the   suspicions  of  the  soldiers.     At  the 
entreaties  of  the  Scots,  and  to  give  some  satisfaction  to  the 
Iriends  of  peace  (Aug.  27),^  parliament  had  decided  that  the 
proposals  made  at  Newcastle  should  once  more  be  presented 
to  the  king;    the  earls  of  Lauderdale   and  Lanark,   lately 
arrived  at  Hampton  Court,  once  more  conjured  him  to  accept 
them  and  join  the  presbyterians,  who  alone  were  sincere  in 
the  wish  to  save  him.§     Alarmed  at  this  danger,  Cromwell 
and  Ireton  redoubled  their  protestations  and  promises  to  the 
king  advised  him  to  reject  the  proposals,  to  require  that  those 
ot  the  army,  far  more  moderate,  should  be  made  the  basis  of 
a  new  negotiation,  and  promised  to  support  the  demand  with 

*  Berkley,  40. 

«.L?w'  in  Rushworth,  ii.,  4.  795,  a  letter,  in  which  Whalley  gives  an 

Z^r^u'  ut  "^^^^^'^  ^"  ^^^^^  ^^^  ki^g  speeds  his  time,  and  of  Ivery" 
thing  which  happens  at  Hampton  Court!  ^ 

♦  Pari.  Hist.,  ill.,  774.  §  Ludlow,  92. 


372 


HISTOEY   OF  THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


873 


II 


»!-  •  ,♦,„,,<.»  Jnfliipnce  «  We  are  determined,"  Ireton  sent 
ht  w^  "to  puie  the  house,  and  purge  it  again,  and 
him  word,      ran    S  disposed  to  arrange  amicably 

purge  It  sfll., until  "  f''*"  °1  part  rather  than  fail  in  what  I 
your  n>ajesty  s  affai^,  i  would^aUy  myself  with  the  French, 
have  promised  the  ^mg,  1  w^"w  ai  y     >  ^        j^^  ^^ 

the  Spaniards  the  cavaliers,  with  any  w^^^^^^  ^^^.^^  ^^  ^^^ 

So:;thr^pro;isf^rp^^^ 

He  iresrytrrians  and  the  fanatics  having  united  to  defeat  it 

^^^^L^dl^imst  and  anger  of  the  soldiers  assumed  a  menacing 
folt  Sr^y  Ittof  pieties  -re  ^-d,  -e  of ^hem 
open  and  tumultuous,  <rthers  secret     evejwn  .^ 

« ambition,  treachery,  deceit      were   re  ec        ,  y.^^^ 

connexion  with  the   name  of  Cromwell      eve^p 

instance,  talked  °f /he  necessUy  g^^^^  ^^^  .^ 

of  the  cavaliers ;  he  had  said .      inow  ^ 

little  incidents,  tending  to  have  h^^^^^f  ^^^^^^ 

burne  formally  denounced  h^."^,  .^^^'^^^^f^'^^^T^^  agitatorl 

all  the  offices  held  by  him  and  ^!^^^^^f  .^^^^^^^^ 

in  their  turn  demanded  of  parliament  the  release 

;  ^ifl^^Zr  was  dated   September   9,   1647.-Parl.  Hist.,  ill, 

'1  BeSey,  44 ;  Ludlow,  ut  sup. ;  Huntingdon,  321. 
i  Banks,  A  Critical  Review  &c    83^     , 
\  Biographia  Bntannica,  art    Lilburne. 
*♦  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  790. 


of  Fairfax  that  of  four  soldiers,  confined,  as  they  said,  merely 
for  a  few  offensive  and  threatening  words  against  the  king.* 
It  was  even  proposed  among  Lilburne,  Wildman,  and  some 
others,  to  get  rid  of  Cromwell  by  assassination. f  No  such  at- 
tempt, however,  was  made  ;  but  whether  on  this  occasion,  or 
from  some  other  cause,  even  the  council  of  agitators  became 
suspected  by  the  soldiers  ;  the  lieutenant-general,  they  said, 
had  spies  among  them  who  informed  him  of  everything.  To 
avoid  this  danger,  several  regiments  appointed,  under  the  name 
of  new  agents,  purer  agitators,  charged  to  watch  the  traitors 
and  serve  the  good  cause  in  whatever  place,  at  whatever  price, 
A  few  superior  officers,  and  some  members  of  the  commons, 
Rainsborough,  Ewers,  Harrison,  Robert  Lilburne,:]:  and  Scott, 
placed  themselves  at  the  head  of  this  movement ;  and  the 
most  violent  faction,  thus  separated  from  the  general  council 
of  officers  and  parliament,  began  openly  to  proclaim  its  maxims 
and  designs.^ 

Cromwell  grew  uneasy :  he  saw  the  army  disunited,  the 
royalists  and  the  presbyterians  watching  the  moment  to  profit 
by  its  discords,  himself  attacked  by  men  of  inexorable  will, 
hitherto  his  most  faithful  allies,  his  most  useful  instruments. 
From  day  to  day  the  king's  intentions  became  more  and  more 
suspected :  "  I  shall  play  my  game  as  well  as  I  can,"  said 
Charles  to  Ireton,  who  pressed  him  to  join  them  openly  ;||  and 
lords  Lauderdale  and  Lanark,  still  assiduous  in  their  attend- 
ance, promised  him  the  support  of  a  Scottish  army  if  he  would 
accept  of  their  alliance.  Already,  it  was  said,  the  prelimina- 
ries of  a  treaty  were  agreed  upon  ;  it  was  even  added  that  in 
Scotland,  where  Hamilton's  credit  prevailed  over  that  of 
Argyle,  troops  were  marching  towards  the  borders.lF  On  their 
side,  the  English  cavaliers,  Capel,  Langdale,  and  Musgrave, 
were  secretly  getting  up  an  insurrection.  "  Be  assured,"  the 
king  had  said  to  Capel,  "  the  two  nations  will  soon  be  at  war ; 
the  Scotch  promise  themselves  the  co-operation  of  all  the  pres- 
byterians in  England ;  let  our  friends,  then,  hold  themselves 
ready  and  in  arms ;  for  otherwise,  whichever  party  is  victori- 

*  Rushworth,  ii.,  808.  t  Holies,  185. 

X  The  brother  of  John  Lilburne,  and  colonel  of  a  regiment  of  infantry. 
§  Beginning  of  October. — Ludlow,  91 ;   Journals,  Lords,  Nov.  16, 
17,  1647. 
II  Hutchinson,  277.  IT  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  786 — 810. 

32 


374 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ous,  we  shall  get  very  little  by  it."*     Meantime,  the  situation 
of  the  army  quartered  near  London  became  critical ;  the  city 
paid  no  attention  to  the  demands  made  for  money  to  pay  the 
men.  and  the  officers  knew  not  how  to  govern  troops  whom 
they  could  not  pay  .f     In  all  directions  the  most  daring  pamph- 
lets  were  circulated ;  some  setting  forth  the  designs  of  the 
soldiers  against  the  king,  others  the  king's  negotiations  with 
the  generals.     In  vain  had  Fairfax  demanded  and  obtained, 
readily  enough  so  far,  the  establishment  of  a  rigorous  censor- 
ship  ;t  in  vain  had  Cromwell  himself  represented  to  the  city 
the  necessities  of  the  army ;  in  vain  had  ne  displayed  all  the 
resources  of  reason  and  craft,  to  persuade  the  fanatics  that 
they  must  restrain  their  fanaticism  if  they  thought  to  be  paid 
by  the  moderate,  the  moderate  that,  to  keep  the  fanatics  in 
check,  they  must  pay  them  ;§  in  vain  had  he  succeeded  in 
getting  some  of  his  confidants  elected  among  the  new  agents 
of  the  soldiers.     His  efforts  were  without  result ;  even  his 
very  prudence  turned  against  him ;  he  had  kept  up  a  corres- 
pondence,  had  secured,  as  he  imagined,  means  of  action  with 
all  parties;  and  now  everywhere  a  wild,  indomitable  excite- 
ment threatened  to  countervail  his  schemes,  to  ruin  his  influ- 
ence.    The  end  of  so  much  ability,  so  much  exertion,  had 
only  been  to  burden  his  situation  with  greater  difficulty  and 

danger. 

Amid  this  perplexity,  one  of  the  spies  he  had  at  Hampton 
Court,  in  the  very  chamber  of  the  king,  sent  him  word  that 
on  that  day,  a  letter  addressed  to  the  queen  would  be  de- 
spatched from  the  castle,  containing  Charles's  real  designs  to- 
wards the  army  and  its  leaders.  The  letter,  sewn  up  in  a 
saddle,  carried  on  his  head  by  a  man,  not  in  the  secret,  would 
reach,  about  ten  o'clock  that  night,  the  Blue  Boar  in  Holborn ; 
a  horse  was  ready  waiting  there  to  take  the  bearer  to  Dover, 
whence  the  packet  would  sail  for  France.  Cromwell  and 
Ireton  at  once  formed  their  resolution.  Disguised  as  private 
soldiers,  and  followed  by  a  single  trooper,  they  left  Windsor 
to  go  to  the  appointed  place.  On  their  arrival,  they  placed 
their  attendant  on  the  watch  at  the  door,  and  entering  the 

•  Clarendon,  iii.,  106.  t  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  804,  &c. 

X  By  an  ordinance  of  September  30, 1647  ;  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  779—781 ; 
Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  799. 

^  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  883,  884. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


375 


tavern,  sat  down  at  a  table  and  had  some  beer.  Towards  ten, 
the  messenger  appeared,  the  saddle  on  his  head :  receiving 
immediate  notice  of  this,  they  went  out,  sword  in  hand,  seized 
the  saddle  under  the  pretext  that  they  had  orders  to  search 
everything,  carried  it  into  the  inn,  ripped  it  open,  found  the 
letter,  carefully  closed  up  the  saddle  again,  and  then  returned 
it  to  the  terrified  messenger,  saying,  with  an  air  of  good  hu- 
mor, that  he  was  an  honest  fellow,  and  might  continue  his 
journey. 

Their  informant  had  not  deceived  them  :  Charles,  indeed, 
wrote  to  the  queen  that  he  was  courted  alike  by  both  factions, 
that  he  should  join  the  one  whose  conditions  should  be  most 
for  his  advantage,  and  that  he  thought  he  should  rather  treat 
with  the  Scottish  presbyterians  than  with  the  army  :  "  For  the 
rest,"  he  added,  "  I  alone  understand  my  position ;  be  quite 
easy  as  to  the  concessions  which  I  may  grant ;  when  the  time 
comes,  I  shall  very  well  know  how  to  treat  these  rogues,  and 
instead  of  a  silken  garter,  I  will  fit  them  with  a  hempen 
halter."  The  two  generals  looked  at  each  other,  and  all  their 
suspicions  thus  confirmed,  returned  to  Windsor,  henceforward 
as  free  from  uncertainty  respecting  their  designs  upon  the 
king  as  respecting  his  towards  them.* 

It  was  full  time  their  conduct  should  cease  to  be  wavering 
and  undecided :  the  wrath  of  the  fanatics  broke  forth,  and 
threw  the  army  into  the  greatest  confusion.  On  the  9th  of 
October,  in  the  name  of  five  regiments  of  horse,  among  which 
Cromwell's  own  regiment  figured,  the  new  agitators  drew  up, 
under  the  title  of  "  The  Case  of  the  Army,"  a  long  decla- 
ration of  their  suspicions,  their  principles,  and  their  wishes. 
On  the  18th,  they  presented  it  officially  to  the  general ;  and 
on  the  1st  of  November  a  second  pamphlet,  entitled,  "  An 
Agreement  of  a  People  for  a  firm  and  present  Peace  on  the 
ground  of  common  right,"  addressed  to  the  whole  nation  in 
the  name  of  sixteen  regiments.  In  both,  the  soldiers  accused 
the  officers  of  treachery,  the  parliament  of  malversation,  ex- 
horted their  comrades  to  join  them,  and  demanded  that  the 
present  parliament  should  be  speedily  dissolved ;  that  for  the 
future  no  person  or  body  should  share  sovereign  power  with 
the  house  of  commons ;  that  parliament  should  be  triennial ; 

*  This  occurred  in  the  course  of  October;  Clarendon,  State  Papers, 
n.,  Appendix,  xxxviii. 


876 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


ENGLISH   EEVOLUTION. 


377 


41 


that  the  suffrage  should  be  equally  distributed  over  the 
country  according  to  population  and  taxation  ;  that  no  member 
should  be  capable  of  being  elected  to  two  successive  parlia- 
ments,  no  citizen  imprisoned  for  debt,  or  compelled  to  serve 
in  the  army  or  navy,  or  excluded  from  any  office  njerely  on 
account  of  his  religion  ;  that  the  provinces  should  appoint 
all  their  own  magistrates ;  that  the  civi  law  equal  for  all, 
should  be  reformed  and  recast  in  a  single  code ;  finally,  that 
certain  rights,  above  all,  liberty  of  conscience,  should  be  de- 
Glared  inviolable,  and  superior  to  all  human  power 

At  this  declaration  of  popular  id6as  and  hopes,  the  uneasi- 
ness  of  the  leaders  was  extreme ;  many  of  them,  and  these 
the  more  intelligent,  though  enemies  to  the  court  and  to  the 
Presbyterians,  regarded  royalty   and  the  upper  house   as  so 
potent,  so  deeply  rooted  in  the  traditions  laws  and  manners 
Sthe  people,  that  a  republic,  now   at  length  seen  near  at 
hand,  close  impending,  had  the  effect  of  a  perilous  chimera. 
Among  the  republicans  themselves,  the  majority,  though  sm- 
cere  and  daring,  were  far  from  participating  in  all  the  views 
of  the  soldiers ;  some,  with  influence  in  the  elections  for  their 
town  or  county,  feared  that  a  new  system  would  deprive  them 
of  their  preponderance;  others,  who  had  got  possession  ot 
church  property,  heard  with  terror  the  people  express  their 
indignation  that  this  property  should  have  been  sold  at  so  low 
a  price,  and  demand  that  all  such  sales  should  be  annulled ; 
the  lawyers  were  anxious  to  retain  their  influence  and  their 
profits ;  all  these  classes  and  others  vehemently  opposed  the 
idea  of  the  house  being  dissolved,  and  their  cause  being  lett 
to  the  chances  of  a  new  election.      Their  common  sense, 
moreover,  revolted  at  the  little  social  importance,  the  insane 
mysticism,    the    haughty   insubordination   of   the    reforming 
soldiers.     How   establish  a  government,   in  the   face  of  the 
royalists  and  presbyterians,  with    an  ungoveraable  faction, 
senseless  enough  to  put  in  jeopardy,  day  after  day,  the  umon 
with  the  army,  its  only  support  ?     How  assail,  for  the  sake 
of  the  reveries  of  obscure  sectarians,  all  the  traditions,  all  the 
ancient  and  respected  rights  of  England  ?     Yet  these  same 
reveries  were  exciting  in  the  minds  of  the  lower  classes,  in 
almost  every  part  of  the  kingdom,  a  fermentation,  altogether 

♦  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  845,  859  ;  Godwin,  ii.,  445. 


unprecedented;  those  vague,  glowing  notions  of  absolute 
justice,  those  impassioned  desires  for  equal  happiness,  which, 
often  suppressed,  are  never  extinguished  in  the  heart  of  man, 
burst  forth  in  all  directions,  with  a  blind  and  furious  confi- 
dence ;  and  the  leaders  themselves,  who  would  not  listen  to, 
knew  not  how  to  answer  them,  for,  at  bottom,  they  shared  the 
principles  in  whose  name  these  wishes  were  proclaimed. 

Their  first  proceedings  were  consequently  feeble  and  fluc- 
tuating. Parliament  voted  that  the  two  pamphlets  were  a 
crime  against  the  government  of  the  kingdom,  and  that  it 
would  prosecute  their  authors ;  but  at  the  same  time,  to  please 
the  republicans,  it  declared  that  the  king  was  bound  to  adopt 
whatever  should  be  proposed  to  him  by  parliament  (Nov.  6).* 
The  general  council  of  officers  assembled  at  Putney  (Oct. 
22),f  invited  the  principal  agitators  to  join  them,  and  a  com- 
mittee, in  which  several  of  them  sat,  received  orders  to  draw 
up,  without  delay,  a  statement  of  their  demands.  In  a  short 
time,  accordingly,  the  committee  presented  to  parliament  a 
report,  embodying  most  of  these  demands ;  but  the  name  and 
essential  prerogatives  of  the  king  were  equally  set  forth  in  it 
(Nov.  2). J  The  agitators  protested  against  this  ;  they  were 
promised  that  in  an  early  council,  the  question  whether  mon- 
archy was  any  longer  to  exist  should  be  freely  discussed. 
But  when  the  day  came,  Ireton  abruptly  quitted  the  council, 
protesting  that  he  would  never  re-enter  it  if  such  a  question 
was  even  touched  upon.  The  debate  was  adjourned  till  the 
following  Monday,  November  6th ;  and  whether  once  more  to 
evade  it,  or  whether  more  compliance  was  hoped  for  from  the 
soldiers  in  a  body,  it  was  agreed  that  the  army  should  be  sum- 
moned to  a  general  meeting,  at  which  it  might  give  expression 
to  its  common  sentiments. § 

But  Cromwell,  who  had  proposed,  easily  discerned  the  dan- 
ger of  this  remedy.  Each  fresh  debate  excited  fresh  dis- 
union in  the  army ;  the  more  they  were  consulted,  the  more 
they  shook  off  the  government  of  their  leaders  and  fell  into 
anarchy.  ||     To  save,  to  make  it  of  use,  it  was  essential  with- 

*  Journals,  &c.     November  5th  and  6th  ;  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  785. 
t  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  849.  t  Ib-»  861,  &c. 

§  Clarendon,  Stite  Papers,  ii.,  App.  xli. ;  Letter  of  several  agitators 
to  their  respective  regiments;  Godwin,  ii.,  451. 
II  Clarendon,  ut  sup. 

32* 


l\ 


878 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLtrriON. 


879 


out  delay  to  restore  in  it  discipline,  to  regain  over  it  command. 
Very  determined  steps  were  necessary  to  effect  this.     It  was 
clear  that  the  soldiers,  at  least  the  most  active  among  them, 
the  leaders  and  fanatics,  were  resolved  to  get  rid  of  the  king, 
that  they  would  forsake,  nay  attack  whomsoever  should  ap- 
pear favorable  to  him ;  that  he  alone  would  command  their 
obedience  and  their  strength,  who  should  in  this  adopt  their 
common  will,  and  execute  it.     Cromwell  formed  his  resolution. 
When  the  day  of  the  council  came,  all  debate  was  forbidden ; 
the  superior  officers  declared,  that  to  re-establish  harmony  in 
the  army  it  was  necessary  that  all,  officers  and  agitators, 
should  return  to  their  regiments ;  that  instead  of  a  general 
meeting,  there  should  be  three  special  meetings  in  the  quarters 
of  the  principal  divisions ;  and  that,  meanwhile,  the  council 
should  suspend  its  sittings,  and  leave  the  general  and  the  par- 
liament  to  act.*     The  king's  situation  at  Hampton  Court  was 
suddenly  changed :  his  councillors,  Richmond,  Southampton, 
and  Ormond,  received  orders  to  depart ;  his  most  trusty  ser- 
vants, Berkley  and  Ashburnham  among  others,  were  with- 
drawn  from  him-;  his  guards  were  doubled  ;  he  no  longer  en- 
joyed  the  same  liberty  in  his  walks.     From  all  sides  dark 
hints  reached  him  ;  it  was  said  that  the  soldiers  intended  to 
seize  his  person  and  to  take  him  from  the  officers  as  these  had 
taken  him  from  the  parliament.     Cromwell  himself  wrote  on 
the  subject,  with  uneasiness,  to  Colonel  Whalley,  whether  he 
really  feared  some  attempt  of  the  kind,  or  that  he  merely 
wished  to  alarm  the  king,  or  rather  that,  careful  as  ever  to  be 
prepared  against  all  chances,  he  wished  still  to  deceive  him 
respecting  his  intentions  and  retain  the  appearance  of  a  desire 

to  serve  him.t 

These  changes,  these  reports,  so  many  new  restrictions,  a 
thousand  rumors  of  treachery,  of  unprecedented  designs,  even 
of  murder,  threw  the  unhappy  Charles  into  a  state  of  anxiety 
each  day  more  painful ;  his  imagination,  susceptible  and  vivid, 
though  grave,  was  disturbed  ;  a  bad  day's  sport,  a  paintul 
dream,  the  going  out  of  his  lamp  in  the  night,t  everything 
seemed  to  him  an  ominous  presage  ;  everything  seemed  to  him 
possible  at  the  hands  of  such  enemies,  though  his  pride  retusea 
to  believe  they  would  dare  proceed  to  extremities.     Flight  was 

•  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  666.  t  lb.,  ii.,  4,  842  ;  Holies,  187. 

X  Herbert,  88. 


suggested  to  him ;  he  was  tempted  to  adopt  the  suggestion ; 
but  whither  fly  ?  how  ?  with  what  aid  ?  The  Scottish  com- 
missioners offered  to  favor  his  escape.  One  day,  while  he 
was  hunting,  Lauderdale  had  it  intimated  to  him  that  they  were 
close  by  with  fifly  horse,  and  that  if  he  would  join  them, 
they  would  depart  at  full  speed  for  the  north.*  But  sudden 
resolutions  confused  the  king ;  besides,  what  asylum  was  he 
to  look  for  in  Scotland,  which  had  already  given  him  up, 
where  he  had  no  longer  any  means  whatever  of  resisting  the 
presbyterian  yoke  and  the  covenant  ?  He  refused.  By 
another  party  he  was  advised  to  embark  and  retire  to  the  isle 
of  Jersey,  where  the  facility  of  passing  over  to  the  continent 
would  compel  all  parties  to  keep  fair  with  him.  But  he  still 
relied  on  the  strength  of  their  continued  promises,  on  the  good 
will  of  the  officers ;  he  flattered  himself  their  coldness  was 
only  forced  and  counterfeited,  that  at  the  next  meeting  of  the 
army  they  would  get  the  better  of  the  agitators,  re-establish 
discipline,  and  renew  their  negotiations  with  him.  He  did 
not  wish  to  leave  England  before  this  last  trial. f  Yet  the  idea 
of  flight  became  more  and  more  familiar  to  him,  more  and 
more  urgent ;  he  was  told  that  a  German  prophet  had  pre- 
sented himself  to  the  council  of  agitators,  announcing  that  he 
was  charged  to  reveal  the  will  of  heaven  ;  but  at  the  bare 
mention  of  reconciliation  with  the  king,  they  had  refused  to 
hear  him.  In  every  possible  way,  Cromwell  had  it  insinuated 
to  him  that  flight  was  necessary.  Some  one,  it  is  not  known 
who,  spoke  to  the  king  of  the  Isle  of  Wight  as  a  convenient 
and  safe  asylum  ;  it  was  near  the  mainland,  its  population 
was  royalist ;  only  just  before,  colonel  Hammond,  nephew  of 
one  of  the  king's  most  faithful  chaplains,  had  been  appointed  its 
governor.  Charles  listened  with  more  attention  to  this  sugges- 
tion than  to  any  other,  collected  information,  and  even  made 
some  preparations.:!:     Yet  he  still  hesitated,  and  sought  on  all 

*  Burnet,  Memoirs  of  the  Hamiltons,  324. 

t  Berkley,  47,  &c. ;  Warwick,  307 ;  Burnet,  Memoirs  of  the  Hamil- 
tons, 326 ;  Ludlow,  92. 

t  This  is  what  evidently  results  from  an  account  of  the  king's  re- 
sidence in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  addressed,  after  the  Restoration,  to 
Charles  H.,  by  sir  John  Bowring,  a  man  otherwise  obscure,  but  who 
was  at  that  time  employed  in  the  secret  manoeuvres  of  Charles  I.  I 
wonder  this  little  work,  though  disfigured  by  many  errors,  and  evi- 
dently written  by  a  man  solely  intent  upon  making  the  most  of  him- 


I 


I!   ' 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


880 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


881 


i 


H\  .'• 


sides  something  to  decide  him.     An  astrologer,  William  Lilly, 
was  at  this  time  in  high  repute  in  London  ;  inclined  to  the 
popular  party,  but  refusing  no  one  his  predictions  and  advice. 
The  king  commissioned  a  woman,  Mrs.  Whorewood,  to  consult 
him  in  his  name  as  to  the  place  to  which  he  had  best  retire  ; 
and  out  of  a  thousand  pounds  which  had  just  been  sent  him 
by   alderman  Adams,  a  devoted   royalist,  Mrs.  Whorewood 
received  five  hundred  for  her  mission.     The  stars  having  been 
solemnly  interrogated,  Lilly  answered,  that  the  king  should 
retire  to  the  east,  into  Essex,  twenty  miles  from  London,  and 
Mrs.  Whorewood  hastened  back  with  this  answer  to  Hampton 
Court.*     Charles,  however,  had  not  waited  for  it ;  on  the  9th 
of  November,  an  anonymous  letter,  written  as  it  would  seem 
by  a  sincere  friend,  warned  him  that  the  danger  was  pressing ; 
that  within  a  few  hours  past,  the  agitators  had  resolved,  in  a 
nocturnal  meeting,  to  make  away  with  him,  and  that  every- 
thing  was  to  be  dreaded  if  he  did  not  immediately  place  him- 
self  out  of  their  reach. f     Another  letter  warned  him  to  beware 
of  the  guard  which  should  be  pUced  in  charge  of  the  castlej 
on  the  next  day  but  two.     Struck  with  dismay,  Charles  took 
his  resolution  ;  on  the  11th  of  November,  at  nine  in  the  eve- 
ning,  leaving  several  letters  on  the  table,  and  followed  by  a 
single  valet-de-chambre,  William  Legge,  he  proceeded  by  a 
back  staircase  to  a  door  which  opened  into  the  park  on  the 
side  of  the  forest,  where  Ashburnham  and  Berkley,  informed 
of  his  design,  were  in  attendance  with  horses.     They  directed 
their  course  to  the  south-west ;  the  night  was  dark  and  stormy ; 
the  king,  who  alone  was  acquainted  with  the  forest,  served  as 
a  guide  to  his  companions  ;  they  lost  their  way,  and  did  not 
reach  till  day-break  the  little  town  of  Sutton,  in  Hampshire, 
where,  by  the  care  of  Ashburnham,  a  relay  of  horses  was  pre- 
pared  for  them.     At  the  very  inn  where  he  awaited  them,  a 
committee  of  parliamentarians  was  assembled,  deliberating  on 

self  but  which  yet  contains  characteristic  and  curious  details,  should 
have  escaped  the  attention  of  the  English  historians ;  Mr.  Godwin  is, 
as  far  as  I  know,  the  only  writer  who  has  mentioned  it ;  it  was  taken 
from  lord  Halifax's  papers,  and  is  to  be  found  in  a  12mo.  yolume,  en- 
titled.  Miscellanies,  Historical  and  Philological  (London,  1703).  Jsee 
alsoRushworth,  ii.,  4,  951;  Berkley,  wf5M^. 

♦  William  Lilly,  History  of  his  Life  and  Times  (1775),  60;  Biogra- 
phia  Britannica,  article  Lilly.  *.  -n    u^  „   xn 

t  Clarendon,  State  Papers,  ii.,  Appendix,  xh.  ;  Berkley,  4U. 


the  affairs  of  the  county.     The  party  set  off  again  immediately, 
and  proceeded  towards  Southampton,  but  without  the  king's 
having  expressly  declared  to  what  place  he  would  go.     On 
the  descent  of  an  eminence  near  the  town  :  "  Let  us  alight," 
said  Charles,   "  and  consult  on  what  is  best  to  be  done." 
First,  it  is  said,  they  talked  of  a  vessel  which  Ashburnham 
was  to  have  secured,  and  of  which  they  had  no  news ;  then  of 
turning  into  the  western  counties,  where  Berkley  guaranteed 
the  devoted  support  of  many  friends ;  at  last  of  the  Isle  of 
Wight,  a  more  convenient  resolution  than  any  other  which 
presented  itself  at  the  time,  removing  the  immediate  perplexi- 
ties of  their  situation,  and  evidently  from  the  road  they  had 
taken,  that  which  the  king  had  proposed  to  himself  when  he 
came  away.     But  the  governor  was  not  apprised :  could  he 
be  trusted  without  security?     It  was  arranged  thai  Ashburn- 
ham and  Berkley  should  proceed  to  the  island,  and  after  sounding 
Hammond,  acquaint  him  with  the  mark  of  confidence  he  was 
on  the  point  of  receiving,  and  that  the  king  should  await  their 
return  a  few  miles  distant,  at  Tichfield,  a  mansion  occupied 
by  lord  Southampton's  mother.     They  separated,  and  next 
morning  the  two  cavaliers,  landing  in  the  island,  went  direct 
to  Carisbrook  Castle,  the  residence  of  the  governor.     Ham- 
mond was  not  there,  but  at  Newport,  the  chief  town  of  the 
place,  whence,  however,  he  was  expected  to  return  that  day. 
Ashburnham  and  Berkley  took  the  road  to  the  town,  and  meet- 
ing Hammond,  informed  him,  without  preamble,  of  the  purport 
of  their  coming.     Hammond  turned  pale,  the  reins  fell  from 
his  hands,  his  whole  body  trembled :  "  Oh,  gentlemen,"  said 
he,  "  you  have  undone  me  by  bringing  the  king  into  this 
island  ;  if  he  is  not  yet  landed,  pray  let  him  not  come  ;  for 
what  between  my  duty  to  his  majesty  and  my  gratitude  for 
this  fresh  obligation  of  confidence,  and  my  observing  my  trust 
to  the  army,  I  shall  be  confounded."     They  endeavored  to 
calm  him,   enlarging  upon  the   immense  service  he  would 
render  the  king,  and  the  engagements  which  the  army  itself 
had  contracted  with  his  majesty,  but  intimating  that  if  he  did 
not  coincide  with  them,  the  king  was  very  far  from  desiring  to 
force  himself  upon  him.  Hammond  continued  his  lamentations. 
But  when  the  two  cavaliers,  in  their  turn,  appeared  distrustful 
and  about  to  withdraw  their  proposal,  he  exhibited  less  indeci- 
sion, inquired  where  the  king  was,  if  he  was  not  in  danger, 


h  { 

13    1 


382 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


383 


A 


and  even  expressed  some   regret  that  he  had  not  at  once 
entirely  trusted  himself  to  him.     The  conversation  was  carried 
on  for  a  long  time,  on  either  side  with  anxious  caution,  both 
parties  almost  equally  afraid  to  break  it  off  or  to  commit 
themselves.     At  length  Hammond  seemed  to  yield  :    "The 
king  "  he  said,  "  shall  not  have  to  complain  of  me  ;  it  shall  not 
be  laid  I  disappointed  his  expectations  ;  I  will  act  as  a  man 
of  honor  ;  let  us  go  together,  and  tell  him  so."     Berkley,  still 
suspicious,  would  have  evaded  this  proposal ;  but  Ashburnham 
accepted  it,  and  they  immediately  set  out  together,  Hammond 
being  accompanied  only  by  one  of  his  officers,  named  Basket. 
A  b^at  conveyed  them  in  a  few  hours  to  Tichfield  and  on  their 
arrival  Ashburnham  alone  went  up  to  the  king,  leaving  Berk, 
ley,  Hammond,  and  Basket  in  the  court-yard  of  the  castle. 
On  hearing  his  story  :  "  Oh,  John  !  John !"  exclaimed  Charles 
« thou  hast  undone  me  by  bringing  this  governor  here  ;  dost 
thou  not  perceive  that  I  can  now  not  stir  a  foot  without  him  ? 
In  vain  Ashburnham  urged  Hammond's  promises,  the  good 
feeling  he  had  displayed,  his  hesitation,  a  proof  of  his  sincerity. 
The  king,  in  despair,  walked  rapidly  up  and  down  the  apart- 
ment,  now  with  his  arms  folded,  now  raising  hands  and  eyes  to 
heaven  with  an  expression  of  the  deepest  anguish  ;  at  length, 
Ashburnham,  moved  in  his  turn,  said:  "Sire,  colonel  Ham- 
mond  is  here  with  only  another  man  ;  nothing  is  so  easy  as  to 
make  sure  of  him."     "  What,"  replied  the  king,  "would  you 
kill  him  ?     Would  you  have  it  said  that  he  hazarded  his  liie 
for  me,  and  that  I  unworthily  deprived  him  of  it  ?     No,  no,  it 
is  too  late  to  take  any  other  course  ;  we  must  trust  to  Orod. 
Meantime,  Hammond  and  Basket  growing  impatient,  Berkley 
went  to  the  king,  and  was  directed  to  bring  them  up.     Charles 
received  them  with  an  open  and  confiding  air ;    Hammond 
renewed  his  promises,  more  extended  even,  though  still  vague 
and  embarrassed.     The  day  was  declining  ;  they  embarked 
for  the  island.     The  report  that  the  king  was  at  hand  had 
already  spread  there  ;  many  of  the  inhabitants  came  to  meet 
him ;  as  he  passed  through  the  streets  of  Newport,  a  young 
woman  advanced  towards  him  and  presented  him  with  a  red 
rose  in  full  blow,  notwithstanding  the  severity  of  the  season, 
praying  aloud  for  his  deliverance.     He  was  assured  that  the 
whole  population  was  devoted  to  him,  that  even  at  Carisbrook 
Castle  the  entire  garrison  consisted  of  twelve  veterans,  all  well 


disposed  to  him,  and  that  he  might  at  any  time  he  pleased 
easily  escape.  Charles's  terrors  were  gradually  appeased ; 
and  next  morning,  when,  on  rising,  he  contemplated  from  the 
windows  of  the  castle  the  charming  view  which  the  sea  and 
land  presented  from  that  spot,  when  he  had  breathed  the  morn- 
ing air,  when  he  saw  in  Hammond  every  demonstration  of 
respect,  when  he  received  full  permission  to  ride  about  the 
island  at  will,  to  retain  his  servants,  to  receive  whom  he 
pleased,  his  long  troubled  spirit  once  more  felt  a  sense  of 
security  :  "  After  all,"  he  said  to  Ashburnham,  "  this  governor 
is  a  gentleman  ;  I  am  here  out  of  reach  of  the  agitators  ;  I  am 
in  hopes  I  shall  have  to  congratulate  myself  on  the  resolution  I 
have  adopted."* 

♦  Berkley,  57,  &c. ;  Herbert,  38  ;  Ludlow,  94;  Clarendon,  iii^  118. 


11 


384 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


i 


■  1 
*  1 ' 


h{  ,*: 


i 


BOOK  THE  EIGHTH. 
1647—1649. 

The  rendezvous  at  Ware— Cromwell  suppresses  the  agitators,  and  af- 
terwards reconciles  himself  with  them— The  parliament  sends  to 
the  king  in  four  bills  the  preliminary  conditions  of  peace — The 
king  rejects  them,  and  secretly  treats  with  the  Scots- The  parlia- 
ment resolves  that  it  will  have  no  further  communication  with  the 
king— General  discontent  and  reaction  in  favor  of  the  king— Embar- 
rassment of  Cromwell  and  the  independents— Breaking  out  of  the 
second  civil  war — Fairfax's  campaign  in  the  east  and  round  London, 
Cromwell's  in  the  west,  Lambert's  in  the  north— Siege  of  Colches- 
ter  The  Scots  enter  England — Cromwell  marches  against  them— 

Battles  of  Preston,  Wigan,  and  Warrington— Cromwell  in  Scotland— 
The  presbyterians  regain  the  ascendency  in  London— The  parliament 
again  opens  a  treaty  with  the  king— Negotiations  at  Newport- 
Changes  in  the  situation  of  parties— The  army  carries  off  the  king 
from  the  Isle  of  Wight— He  is  removed  to  Hurst  castle— Then  to 
Windsor-^Last  efforts  of  the  presbyterians  in  his  favor— Trial  and 
death  of  the  king — Monarchy  abolished. 

The  parliamentary  commissioners  and  the  officers  of  the  gar- 
rison at  Hampton  Court  waited  for  the  king  to  appear  at  the 
supper  table  at  the  accustomed  time  ;  astonished  at  not  seeing 
him,  they  at  length  went  to  his  room,  and  there  found  only 
three  letters  in  his  own  handwriting,  addressed,  one  to  lord 
Montague,  president  of  the  committee,  one  to  colonel  Whalley, 
the  third  to  the  speaker  of  the  house  of  lords.  To  the  latter 
the  king  gave  as  the  reason  for  his  flight  the  plots  of  the  agi- 
tators, and  his  right  to  live  free  and  in  safety  like  any  other 
citizen.  The  two  other  letters  were  merely  to  express  to 
Montague  and  Whalley  his  thanks  for  their  attentions,  and  to 
direct  them  what  to  do  with  his  horses,  dogs,  pictures,  and  the 
minor  articles  of  furniture  in  his  apartments.  No  indication 
was  given  as  to  the  road  he  meant  to  take,  nor  the  place  of 

his  retreat.* 

Great  was  the  consternation  in  Westminster  Hall,  and  all 

•  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  786,  &c. 


385 


the  greater  that,  concurrently  with  the  news  from  Hampton 
Court,  came  a  letter  from  head-quarters  at  Windsor,  written 
at  midnight  by  Cromwell,  who  had  hastened,  he  said,  to  com- 
municate  the  intelligence  to  parliament.*     He,  then,  had  been 
the  first  to  know  of  it,  before  parliament,  perhaps  before  the 
king's  departure  ;  for  a  report  became  current  that  precisely 
on  the    11th,  the   previously  strict  watch  of  the  garrison   at 
Hampton  Court  had  been  relaxed,  that  sentinels  had  even  been 
withdrawn  from  the   posts  they  usually  guarded.f     Letters 
soon  came  (Nov.  13)  from  Hammond,  informing  the  house  of 
the  kmg's  arrival,:j:  protesting  entire  devotion  to  their  service 
and  requesting  their  instructions.     Yet  men's  fears  were  not 
dispelled  ;  Cromwell  also  had  received  letters  from  Hammond, 
as  if  all  the  servants  of  parliament  thought  themselves  bound  to 
give  him  information  and  consult  him  on  every  occasion  ;  and 
he  reported  the  letters  and  their  contents  to  the  house  wi'th  an 
exhilaration  of  manner  which  astonished  the  least  suspicious,§ 
and  appeared  to  them  even,  an  alarming  symptom  of  some 
success,  of  the  fulfilment  of  some  hope,  the  nature  of  which 
they  in  vain  attempted  to  discover. 

Two  days  had  scarcely  elapsed  before  he  inspired  his  ene- 
mies with  other  and  still  greater  alarm.     It  was  on  Nov.  15th, 
that  the  first  of  the  three   appointed  meetings  of  the  army,' 
which  were  to  put  an  end  to  its  dissensions,  was  to  take  place 
at  Ware,  in  Hertfordshire.     Cromwell  proceeded  thither  with 
Fairfax,  surrounded   by  the  officers  of  whom  he  was  sure. 
Only  seven  regiments  were  summoned,  those  which  had  shown 
the  least  excitement,  and  with  whom  it  seemed  most  easy  to 
re-establish  discipline.     Cromwell  relied  upon  their  subjection 
to  intimidate,  or  upon  their  example  to  calm  the  more  furious. 
But  when  they  arrived  on  the  common  at  Ware,  the  generals 
found  nine  regiments  instead  of  seven  ;  Harrison's  regiment 
of  cavalry,  and  Robert  Lilburne's  of  infantry  had  come  with- 
out  orders,  and  in  a  state  of  the  fiercest   excitement.     The 
latter  had  expelled  all  their  officers  above  the  rank  of  lieute- 
nant, except  captain  Bray,  who  was  now  in  command  of 
them ;  every  soldier  wore  on  his  hat  a  copy  of  The  Agree-    \ 
ment  of  the  People,  with  this  inscription  :  <<  Liberty  for  Eng-    ^ 

•  Rushworth,  ii    4,  871.      f  Ludlow,  95.      |  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  789. 
§  Clarendon,  m.,  130.  '  ?      » 

33 


386 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


387 


land,  their  rights  for  the  soldiers."     From  time  to  time,  as  if 
seized  with. a  common  impulse,  their  shouts  re-echoed  over 
the  plain:  Rainsborough,  Ewers,  Scott,  John  Lilburne  him- 
self  lately  permitted  by  the  commons  to  leave  the    lower 
every  morning  for  the  benefit  of  his  health,  galloped  over  the 
common,  riding  from  troop  to  troop,  encouraging  the  more 
animated,  calling  the  moderate  cowards,  repeating  everywhere 
that  since  the  sword  was  in  their  hands,  they  were  in  con- 
science  bound  to  use  it,  to  secure  fully  and  for  ever  the  liberty 
of  their  country.     Amidst  this  tumult,  Fairfax,  Cromwell,  and 
their  staff,  advanced  towards  the  peaceable   regiments,  and 
read  to  them,  in  the  name  of  the  general  council  of  ofhcers,  a 
calm  and   firm  remonstrance,  reproaching  the  new  agitators 
with  their  seditious  proceedings  and  the  dangers  they  brought 
upon  the  army  ;  reminding  them  of  the  proofs  of  affection 
and  fidelity  their  chiefs  had  given  them,  the  triumphs  they 
had  obtained  under  their  command,  and  promising  to  support 
the  just  demands  of  the  soldiers  in  parliament,  whether  for 
themselves  or  their  country,  if,  in  their  turn,  they  would  sign 
an  engagement  to  return   under  the  laws  of  discipline,  and 
henceforward  respect  the  orders  of  their  officers.     Seven  regi- 
ments  received  this  address  with  joyful  acclamations,     t  air- 
fax   advanced  towards  that  of  Harrison.     The  troopers  no 
sooner  heard  him  repeat  their  promises,  than  they  tore  the 
copy  of  the  agreement  from  their  hats,  and   exclaimed  that 
they  had  been  deceived,  and  would  live   and  die  with  then- 
general.     Lilburne's  regiment  still  remained  rebellious  and 
violently  excited  ;  it  even  began  to  answer  Fairfax  by  sedi- 
tious shouts  ;  Cromwell  advanced :  "  Take  that  paper  from 
your  hats  !"  he  cried  to  the  soldiers ;  they  refused  ;  he  sud- 
denly entered  among  their  ranks,  and  pointed  out  and  caused 
to  be  arrested  fourteen  of  the  most  mutinous  :  a  court-martial 
was  assembled  on  the  spot,  and  three  soldiers  condemned  to 
death.     *'  Let  them  draw  lots,"  the  council  ordered,  "and  ic 
him  upon  whom  it  falls  be  shot  instantly."    It  fell  upon  Richard 
Arnell,  a  wild  agitator  ;  the  execution  took  place  forthwith,  in 
front  of  his  regiment ;  the  other  two  condemned  men,  with 
their  eleven  companions,  were  marched  away.     Major  bcott 
and  captain  Bray  were  put  under  arrest ;  deep  silence  pre- 
vailed ;  all  the  divisions  returned  to  their  quarters  ;  the  two 
other  meetings  passed  over  without  the  slightest  murmur,  and 


the  whole  army  seemed  once  more  under  the  full  command 
of  its  leaders.* 

Cromwell,  however,  did  not  deceive  himself  respecting  the 
uncertainty,  the  danger  even,  of  such  a  triumph  :  when  he 
announced  it  to  the  commons  (Nov.  I9),t  amidst  the  thanks 
voted   him   by  the  majority,   delighted  at  the  defeat  of  the 
agitators,  the  presbyterian  leaders  did  not  conceal  their  cold- 
ness, nor  the  republicans  their  anger :  to  the  first,  any  success 
ot  CromweH's  was  a  matter  of  suspicion,  whatever  its  apparent 
effect ;  the  latter  regarded  his  conduct  at  the  meeting  at  Ware 
as  another  proof  of  treachery.     Ludlow  opposed  the  vote  of 
thanks  4  the  preacher,  Saltmarsh,  came  up  from  the  country 
as  he  said,  by  an  express  command  of  God,  to  tell  the  generals 
that  the  Lord  had  forsaken  them,  since  they  had  imprisoned 
his  saints  ;§  in  short,  afler  the  first  stupor  was  over,  a  crowd 
of  subaltern  and  noncommissioned  officers,  soldiers,  nearly  all 
the  revolutionary  agents  of  the  regiments,  declared  to  Cromwell 
and  Ireton,  that  no  severity,  no  temporary  check  should  turn 
them  from  their  designs  ;    that  they  were  resolved  to  get  rid 
of  the  king,  and  establish  a  republic  ;  that  at  the  risk  of  losing 
all,  they  would  divide  the  army,  take  with  them  at  least  two- 
thirds  of  It,  and  prosecute  the  enterprise  alone  rather  than  be 
thus  put  down.     Cromwell  had  no  desire  to  reduce  them  to 
this  extremity  ;  he  had  intended,  by  a  signal  example,  to  cut    ! 
short  the  progress  of  anarchy  in  the  army ;  but  he  knew  the    1 
power  of  the  fanatics,  and  was  quite  disposed  to  a  reconciliation    ' 
with  them.     Without  declaring  for  a  republic,  he  spoke  ill  to 
them  of  the  king,  acknowledged  they  were  in  the  right  to  hope 
nothing  from  him,  owned  that  for  himself  the  vanities  of  this 
world  had  dazzled  him  for  a  moment,  that  he  had  not  been 
able  to  discern  clearly  the  work  of  the  Lord,  nor  trust  wholly 
to  his  saints,  humbled  himself  before  them,  and  implored  the 
aid  of  their  prayers  to  obtain  his  pardon  from  Heaven.     The 
most  popular  preachers,  among  others  Hugh  Peters,  an  in- 
triguing and  prating  enthusiast,  undertook  to  spread  abroad  his 
protestations  and  admissions.     Cromwell  even  sent  comforting 
promises  to  the  soldiers  in  prison.     All  he  insisted  upon,  and 
this  he  did  in  the  firmest  tone,  was  the  necessity  of  maintain- 

•  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  875 ;  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  791 ;  Clarendon,  iii.,  132  : 

!  wu'l  ?^^f^^  ^''^'^^''  P^^^  1'  preface  33-73  ;  Godwin,  ii.,  462. 
t  Whitelocke,  279.  J  Ludlow,  90.  §  Whitelocke,  285 


388 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


889 


f     ,; 


'  ing  union  and  discipline  in  the  army,  as  the  only  means  of 
success  or  even  of  safety.*  Many  Relieved  his  words,  ever 
impassioned  and  powerful ;  others,  not  so  blind,  felt  how  much 
they  needed  his  talents,  and  even  while  doubting  hisjepent- 
ance,  could  not  make  up  their  minds  to  reject  it.  Most  of 
them,  besides,  confessed  that  the  agitators  had  been  toohasty,  had 
gone  too  far,  and  that  the  soldiers  owed  to  their  officers  more  sub- 
mission  and  respect.  Rainsborough,  Scott  and  Ewers,  admit- 
ted  themselves  in  the  wrong,  and  promised  more  prudence  for 
the  future.  A  great  meeting  took  place  at  last  at  head-quarters 
(Dec  22);  officers,  agitators,  and  preachers,  passed  ten  hours 
together  in  conversation  and  prayer ;  the  common  interest  pre- 
vailed  over,  without  altogether  dissipating,  their  mutual  rancor 
and  distrust ;  it  was  decided  that  the  prisoners  should  be  set 
at  liberty,  that  captain  Bray  should  return  to  his  regiment, 
and  that  parliament  should  be  requested  to  restore  to  Rains- 
borough  the  office  of  vice-admiral,  which  it  had  taken  Irom 
him.t  This  reconciliation,  of  which  the  king's  ^um  w^s  the 
condition,  was  celebrated  by  a  solemn  feast  (Jan.  9,  1648).; 

At  this  point  of  time,  there  arrived  at  head-quarters  sir  John 
Berkley,  whom  Charles,  informed  of  the  result  of  the  meeting 
at  Ware,  had  hastened  to  send  to  the  generals,  to  congratulate 
them  on  their  victory  and  to  remind  them  of  their  promises  (in 
the  latter  end  of  November).  Though  the  bearer  of  letters 
not  only  from  the  king,  but  from  Hammond  to  Fairfax,  Ireton 
and  Cromwell,  Berkley  was  not  without  uneasiness  ;  he  had 
met,  on  his  road,  with  cornet  Joyce,  who  had  expressed  as- 
tonishment at  his  temerity,  and  told  him  that  the  agitators,  so 
far  from  fearing  anything,  had  drawn  over  the  generals  to 
their  views,  and  were  preparing  to  bring  the  king  to  trial. 
When  he  arrived  at  Windsor,  the  council  of  officers  was  as- 
sembled  ;  he  presented  himself,  and  handed  his  letters  to  the 
general.  He  was  ordered  to  withdraw.  Recalled  m  halt  an 
hour,  Fairfax  sterniy  addressed  him  :  "  We  are  the  parlia- 
ment's army  ;  we  have  no  answer  to  give  to  the  proposals  ot^ 
his  majesty  ;  our  employers  alone  must  judge  ot  them. 
Berkley  looked  at  Ireton,  then  at  Cromwell  ;  they  scarcely 

*  Berkley    75  j* 

tRushworth,'ii.,4,943;   Clarendon,  State  Papers,  ii. ;   Appendix, 

xliv.  ;  Whitelocke,  285. 
X  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  959. 


bowed,  and  that  with  a  smile  of  contempt.    He  withdrew  quite 
astounded  :  the  day  passed  without  his  being  able  to  obtain  an 
explanation  or  any  intelligence ;  at  length,  towards  the  evening 
the  commandant  Watson,  the  officer  with  whom  he  had  been 
most  intimate,  sent  him  word  to  be  at  midnight  in  a  certain 
paddock  behind  the  Garter  Inn,  where  he  would  meet  him 
h  rom  him,  Berkley  learned  what  had  taken  place,  and  with 
what  ardor  the  army  was  transported  :  "  It  is  such,"  he  said 
"that  I  hazard  my  life  in  coming  here  ;  for  even  this  very 
atternoon,  Ireton  made  two  proposals;  one  to  send  you  prisoner 
to  London,  the  other  to  forbid  any  one  to  speak  to  you  under 
pam  of  death.      If  the  king  can  escape,  let  him  do  it,  as 
he  loves  his  life."     "  Do  you  advise  me,"  said  Berkley    «  to 
send  to  Cromwell  and  Ireton  the  letters  which  the  king  has 
given  me  for  them  ?"     «  By  all  means;  otherwise  they  would 
distrust  I  had  revealed  their  designs  to  you."* 

As  Watson  hud   foreseen,  Berkley  from   the  two  generals 
obtained  neither  interview  nor  answer.     "  I  will  do  my  best  to 
serve  the  king,"  Cromwell  alone  sent  word  ;  "  but  he  must 
not  expect  I   shall   ruin   myself   for  his   sake."      Sir  John 
hastened  to  send  this  melancholy  news  to  the  king,  conjuring 
him  to  get  away  without  losing  an  instant.     Charles,  perhaps, 
might  liave  done  so ;  for  a  vessel,  sent  by  the  queen,  had,  it 
IS  said,  been  cruising  about  the  island  for  several  days  past.f 
But  a  fresh  intrigue  had  reanimated  the  king's  hopes.     After 
a  warm  debate  in  the  commons,:]:  the  house   had  just  voted 
(Dec.  14)  that  four  propositions  should  be  presented  to  him  in 
the  form  of  bills ;  and  that  if  he  accepted  them,  he  should  be 
allowed,  as  he  had  several  times  requested,  to  treat  in  person 
with  the  parliament.     They  were— first,  that  the  command  of 
the  sea  and  land  forces  should  appertain  for  twenty  years  to 
parliament,  with  power  of  continuation  thereafter,  if  the  safety 
of  the  kingdom  should   seem  to  require   it ;  2,  that  the  king 
should  revoke  all   his  declarations,  proclamations,  and  other 
acts  published  against  the  house,  imputing  to  it  illegality  and 
rebellion ;  3,  that  he  should  annul  all  the  patents  of  peerage 
he  had  granted  since  he  left  London;  4,  that  parliament  should 

♦  Berkeley,  73.  fib.,  76. 

T  Ihe  motion  took  place  in  the  house  of  lords  on  the  26th  of  No- 

p!2  U-' J"^...^^®  commons  adopted  it  on  the  27th,  by  115  to  106.— 
i^ari.  Hist.,  ill.,  803. 

33* 


390 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


891 


A 


be  empowered  to  adjourn  for  whatever  time,  and  to  whatever 
pfar  U  should  thi'nk   proper.     Charles,  notwithstanding  his 
t^ve^,  had  no  idea  of  sanctioning  these  bills   and  thus  ae- 
knowledging  the  legitimacy  of  the  war  which  had   brought 
Wm  to  t1.is%xtremity ;  but  he  knew  that  the  Scottish  com^ 
mSsioners  had  strongly  opposed  them,  that  they  had  exhibited 
Tbitter  resentment  of  the  contempt  with  which   parhanient 
had  received  their  remonstrances  :*    he  had  received  from 
them,   concurrently  with   Berkley's  letter,   secret   advice    o 
reL   propositions  io  offensive,  and  a  promise  that  they  would 
thimseWes  come  to  the  Isle  of  Wight  and  treat  with  him    in 
the  name  of  Scotland,  on   far  better  conditions.      - 1  must 
wait"  he  said  to  Berkley  on  his  return  ;  "  I  will  settle  with 
Te  Scots  before  I   leave  the  kingdom  ;  if  they  once  saw  me 
out  of  the  hands  of  the  army,  they  would  double  their  de- 

"™  L^r'ds^Lauderdale,  Lowden,  and   Lanark,  accordingly,  ar- 
rived  at  Carisbrook  Castle,  nearly  at  the  same  time  (Dec.  23, 
1647)  with  lord  Denbigh  and  his  five  colleagues,^  the  com- 
missiLrs    from   Westminster.      The    negotiations    already 
opened  at  Hampton  Court  were  now  renewed  between  them 
and  the  king  with  great  mystery;  for,  they  said,  they  had 
only  to  protest  to  him  personally  against  the  proposals  of  par- 
liament      In  two  days  the  treaty  was  concluded,  drawn  up, 
Sed  (Dec.  26),  and'hidden  in  a  garden  in  f  ,f -^ jnti 
it  could  be  taken  away  in  safety.     It  promised  the  king    he 
ntervention  of  a  Scottish  army  to  re-establish  him  in  his  just 
Sts    on  condition  that  he  would  confirm  the  P-byterian 
establishment  for  three  years  in  Eng  and,  l^^"^«f/^  ^"^  f^^^^^ 
friends  not  beincr  required  to  conform  to  it  ;  and  that,  at  the 
Sof  that  term:  the  assembly  of  divines  should  be  consulted 
and  he  should  definitively  settle,  in  concert  with  P^rliarnem 
the  constitution  of  the  church.     Several  stipulations  to  tbe 
advantage  of  Scotland,  and  which  would  have  been  highl> 
offensive  to  the  honor  of  England,  accompanied  thjs  general 
concession.     It  was  also  agreed  that  to  aid  the  Scottish  army, 
the  cavaliers  all  over  the  kingdom  should  take  arms     t  a 
Ormond  should  go  and  re-assume  the  command  of  the  loyalist 
party  in  Ireland,  and  that  the  king  himself,  as  soon  as  he 

*  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  825.        t  Berkley,  80.         X  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  824. 


should  have  rejected  the  four  propositions,  should  escape  from 
the  island  and  proceed  to  the  borders  of  Scotland,  to  Berwick, 
or  some  other  place,  and  wait  in  liberty  for  the  moment  of 
action.* 

Everything  thus  settled,  Charles  sent  word  to  the  parlia- 
mentary commissioners  that  he  was  ready  to  give  them  his 
answer  (Dec.  27).  He  had  resolved,  three  years  before,  in 
the  negotiations  at  Oxford,  to  deliver  it  to  them  in  a  sealed 
envelope,  fearing  that,  once  aware  of  his  refusal,  perhaps 
even  of  his  projects,  they  might  take  measures  that  would 
undo  the  whole.  But  lord  Denbigh  obstinately  refused  to 
receive  the  king's  message  in  this  form.  "  Parliament,"  he 
said,  "  has  charged  us  to  bring  back,  not  anything  it  may 
please  your  majesty  to  give  us,  but  the  adoption  or  rejection 
of  the  four  bills."  Charles  was  obliged  to  comply,  and  read 
the  message  aloud  :  it  absolutely  rejected  the  propositions,  and 
requested  to  treat  in  person,  without  being  pledged  to  accept 
anything  beforehand.  The  commissioners  withdrew,  held  a 
short  conference  with  Hammond,  and  returned  to  Westmin- 
ster, and  a  few  hours  after  their  departure,  while  the  king  was 
discussing  with  Ashburnham  and  Berkley  the  means  of  es- 
cape prepared  for  the  following  night,  the  gates  of  the  castle 
were  closed,  entrance  forbidden  to  all  strangers,  the  guards 
everywhere  doubled,  and  almost  all  the  king's  servants,  Ash- 
burnham and  Berkley  the  first,  received  orders  to  quit  the 
island  forth  with,  f 

Full  of  anger  and  painful  uneasiness,  Charles  sent  for 
Hammond  :  "  Why,"  said  he,  "  do  you  use  me  thus  ?  Where 
are  your  orders  for  it  ?  Was  it  the  spirit  that  moved  you  to 
it  ?  "  Hammond,  who  had  no  formal  orders,  was  silent,  and 
hesitated  ;  at  last,  he  spoke  of  the  answer  his  majesty  had  just 
made  to  the  proposals  of  parliament.  "  Did  you  not  engage 
your  honor,"  said  the  king,  "  you  would  take  no  advantage 
against  me  in  any  case  ?  "  Hammond :  "  I  said  nothing." 
The  king:  "You  are  an  equivocating  gentleman.  Will  you 
allow  me  any  chaplain  ?  You  pretend  for  liberty  of  con- 
science ;  shall  I  have  none  ?  "     Hammond  :  "  I  cannot  allow 

*  Clarendon,  iii.,  151  ;   Burnet,  Memoirs  of  the  Hamiltons,  325 — 
334. 

t  Berkley,  92;  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  828— S30 ;  Bowring,  92—94:  Cla- 
rendon, iii.,  134.  ^ 


392 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


u     1  ;«  "     THa  kinCT  •  "  You  use  me  neither  like 

vou  when  you  are  in  a  better  temper."     The  king :      I  have 
slept  well  to-night."     Hammond:   "I  have  used  you  very 
cWlly  "      The  king:   "  Why  do  you  not  so  now  then? 
HamLnd :  »  Sir,  yfu  are  too  high  "    The  kmg :    'My  shoo- 
maker's  fault,  then ;  and  yet  my  shoes  are  of  the  same  Ic^t 
This  he  repeated  several  times  as  he  walked  the  room,  then 
mrning  tow^rfs  Hammond,  he  said  :  "  Shall  I  have  liberty  to 
go  atout  to  take  the  air ?  "    Hammond :  "No      cannot  gran 
it  "     The  kine :  "  You  cannot  grant  it !    Is  this  the  Uith  you 
owe  me  ?      s^this  your  allegia'nce  ?     Answer."     Hammon 
hlsUly  left  the  room,  agitated  and  with  tears  m  his  eyes;  but 
he  in  no  respect  altered  his  late  arrangements. 

Meantime,  the  parliamentary  commissioners  arrived  at  West- 
minster  :  they  had  no  sooner  given  an  account  of  their  journey 
Z  hs  results,  than  a  member  till  then  unnoticed  in  the  house 
sfr  Thomas  Wroth,  rose  (Jan.  3,  1648^  :  "  Mr.  Speaker  "sauJ 
he  "Bedlam  was  appointed  for  madmen,  and  lophetT  lor 
kin-TS  •  but  our  kings  of  late  have  carried  themselves  as  if 
they  were  fit  for  noplace  but  Bedlam  ;  I  propose  we  lay  he 
kinl  by,  and  settle  the  kingdom  without  him.  care  not  what 
form  of  government  you  set  up,  so  it  be  not  by  kings  or  devils. 

.  CUrendon,  State  Papers,  ii.,  Appendix,  44  ;  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  959, 

^'?  'Zt  ulo'say.  "'Hell."  Topheth  is  a  Hebrew  word,  which  in  iU 
eeLT^  acceptSn,  means  an  abUinablc  thing  a  th'ng  «-orthy  of  ex- 
!c?ation  (the^adical  word  signifies"  to  split  with  ^'^gu^t    ),  ^^df^  » 

to  Moloch   and  where  the  statues  of  the  false  gods  were  thrown  j  hen 

?hP  town   and  Xre  the  bodies  of  executed  criminals  were  burnt.    It 


ENGLISH   EE VOLUTION. 


393 


Ireton  immediately  supported  the  motion.     "  The  king,"  he 
said,  "  has  denied  safety  and  protection  to  his  people  by  deny- 
ing the  four  bills ;  subjection  to  him  is  only  in  exchange  of 
his  protection  to  his  people  ;  this  being  denied  by  him,  we  may 
as  well  deny  any  more  subjection  to  him,  and  settle  the  king- 
dom without  him."    Astounded  at  so  rough  an  attack,  irritated 
themselves  by  the  king's  refusal,  the  presbyterians  appeared 
for  awhile  perplexed  and  timid  ;  several  members,  however, 
spoke  against  the  proposition :  "To  adopt  it,"  said  Maynard, 
*'  is,  as  far  as  in  us  lays,  to  dissolve  the  parliament ;  when 
kings  liave  refused  to  receive  our  petitions,  or  admit  our  ad- 
dresses, this  has  always  been  held  the  highest  breach  of  our 
privileges,  because  it  tended  to  our  dissolution   without  dis- 
solving us ;  and  if  we  now,  on  our  parts,  determine  we  will 
receive  no  more  messages  from  him,  nor  make  any  more  ad- 
dresses to  him,  we  declare  we  are  no  longer  a  parliament." 
The  discussion  was  prolonged  and  grew  warm ;  the  presby- 
terians regained  confidence  ;  the  house,  at  first  indifferently 
disposed  towards  them,  seemed  wavering ;    Cromwell  rose  : 
"  Mr.  Speaker,"  said  he,  "  the  king  is  a  man  of  great  sense, 
of  great  talents,  but  so  full  of  dissimulation,  so  false,  that  there 
is  no  possibility  of  trusting  him.     While  he  is  protesting  his 
love  for  peace,  he  is  treating  underhand  with  the  Scottish  com- 
missioners, to  plunge  the  nation  into  another  war.     It  is  now 
expected  the  parliament  should  govern  and  defend  the  kingdom 
by  their  own  power  and  resolution,  and  not  teach  the  people 
any  longer  to  expect  safety  and  government  from  an  obstinate 
man,  whose  heart  God  hath  hardened  ;  the  men  who,  at  the 
expense  of  their  blood,  defended  you  from  so  many  perils,  will 
again  defend  you,  with  the  same  courage  and  fidelity,  against 
all  opposition.     Teach  them  not,  by  neglecting  your  own  and 
the  kingdom's  safety,  in  which  their  own  is  involved,  to  think 
themselves  betrayed,  and  left  hereafter  to  the  rage  and  malice 
of  an  irreconcilable  enemy  whom  they  have  subdued  for  your 
sake,  lest  despair  teach  them  to  seek  their  safety  by  some  other 
means  than  adhering  to  you,  who  will  not  stick  to  yourselves. 
And  how  destructive  such  a  resolution  in  them  will  be  to  you 
all,  I  tremble  to  think,  and  leave  you  to  judge ;"  and  he  sat 
down  with  his  hand  on  his  sword  hilt.     No  one  spoke  after 
him  ;  the  motion,  immediately  adopted  (by  141  to  92),  was 
sent  the  next  day  to  the  upper  house  (Jan.  4).     At  first  the 


i^i 


1 

■H' 


.  t 


894 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


395 


I 


lords  appeared  to  hesitate ;  the  debate  was  twice  adjourned 
(from  Jan.  4  to  8  ;  then  from  8  to  11) :  two  declarations  came 
from  the  army  ;*  one  addressed  to  the  commons,  full  of  con- 
gratulations,  and  threats  against  their  enemies  :  the  other  to 
the  lords,  mild,  conciliatory,  contradicting  the  reports  spread 
abroad  as  to  danger  threatening  the  peerage,  and  promising  to 
support  it  in  all  its  rights.  The  cowardly  portion  of  the  house 
could  as  they  pleased  appear  alarmed  or  reassured  ;  the  dis- 
cussion was  brought  to  a  close,  and  when  the  motion  was  put 
(Jan.  J 5),  lords  Warwick  and  Manchester  alone  opposed  it.f 

On  the  other  hand,  energetic  and  formidable  protests  were 
sent  forth  from  all  parts  of  the  kingdom.     "  Now  at  last," 
cried  the  cavaliers,  '*  are  fulfilled  those  accusations  and  pre- 
dictions so  often  treated  as  chimeras  or  calumnies;"  and  on 
all  sides,  crowds  of  voices  hitherto  wavering,  joined  them  in 
denouncing  this  execrable  treason.     Before  there  was  time  for 
the  king  to  answer  the   declarations  of  parliament,  several 
answers^appeared,  emanating  from  the  spontaneous  zeal  of  pri- 
vate  citizens.:):     Never  had  so  many  reports  of  royalist  plots, 
never  had  so  many  and  such  violent  pamphlets  besieged  West- 
minster.§     In  the  Isle  of  Wight  itself,  captain  Burley,  a  half- 
pay  naval  officer,  had  the  drum  beat  through  the  streets  of 
Newport,  and,  collecting  a  body  of  laborers,  children,  and 
women,  put  himself  at  their  head  to  go  and  release  the  king 
from  prison.     The  attempt  was  immediately  frustrated,  and 
Burley  hanged  as  guilty  of  having  made  war  against  the  king 
in  his  parliament.il     Similar  feelings  and  desires  agitated  those 
counties  which,  just  before,  had  been  opposed  to  the  royal 
cause ;  even  at  the  very  doors  of  parliament,  some  of  Essex's 
disbanded  soldiers  tumultuously   assembled,   crying:    *' God 
save  the  king  !"  stopping  the  coaches  and  making  those  within 
join  them  in  drinking  hishealth.lT     The  republicans  were  in- 
censed  at  finding  themselves  thus  disturbed  in  their  victory : 

•  January  llth ;  they  are  dated  the  9th. 

t  Pari.  HiAt.,  iii.,  8*30-837;  Clement  Walker,  History  of  Indepen- 
dency (1648)»  72;  Clarendon,  iii.,  142. 

X  Clarendon,  iii.,  144. 

§  Rushworth,  4,  929,  974,  1002;  two  pamphlets,  more  particularly, 
entitled  "The  Parliament's  Ten  Commandments,"  and  **  The  New 
Testament  of  our  Lords  and  Saviors  the  House  of  Commons  sitting  at 
Westminster,"  caused  great  excitement. 

II  Clarendon,  iii.,  137.  ^  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  804. 


in  vain  they  obtained  addresses  of  congratulation*  from  a  few 
counties ;  in  vain  the  commons  proclaimed  their  design  of  re- 
forming the  law,  and  of  rendering  the  attainment  of  justice 
less  expensive  ;  in  vain  did  they  even  suspend  their  own  privi- 
leges in  reference  to  prosecutions  and  debts  (Jan.  4).f  These 
important  ameliorations  were  only  desired  and  appreciated  by 
the  party  itself,  or  a  few  superior  minds ;  some  of  them  shocked 
the  prejudices  of  the  people,  others  were  not  understood  by 
their  ignorance  ;  with  all,  the  interested  motive  which  seemed 
to  dictate  them  destroyed  their  effect.  This  want  of  popularity 
must  be  made  up  for  by  tyranny.  The  proceedings  already 
commenced  against  such  members  of  parliament  and  city  ma- 
gistrates as  were  considered  authors  or  fomenters  of  presbyte- 
rian  or  royalist  riots,  were  urged  forward  ;:f  whoever  had 
borne  arms  against  parliament  received  orders  to  leave  Lon- 
don, and  were  forbidden  to  reside  within  twenty  miles  of  its 
walls  (Dec.  17,  1647)  ;§  a  general  revision  of  the  justices  of 
the  peace  throughout  the  kingdom  was  directed,  with  the  view 
of  getting  rid  of  all  whose  principles  should  be  suspected  ;||  it 
was  enacted  that  no  delinquent,  no  person  who  had  taken  any 
part  or  was  accused  of  having  taken  a  part  in  any  plot  against 
the  parliament,  might  be  elected  a  lord  mayor,  alderman,  or 
member  of  the  common  council  of  the  city,  or  even  vote  at  the 
election  of  these  magistrates  (Dec.  17)  ;ir  the  same  disquali- 
fication was  shortly  after  applied  to  the  functions  of  jurymen 
and  to  the  election  of  members  of  parliament.**  The  com- 
mittee appointed  to  suppress  the  licentiousness  of  the  press 
received  orders  to  sit  every  day,  and  a  sum  was  put  at  their 
disposal  (Jan.  6,  1648),"|"f  to  reward  those  who  should  discover 
and  seize  the  presses  of  the  malignants.  Finally,  the  army 
once  more  marched  through  London  with  all  the  paraphernalia 
of  war,  and  three  thousand  men  were  detached  from  it  and 
quartered,  half  at  Whitehall  half  at  the  Tower.  JJ 

The  fanatics,  the  men  of  stern,  narrow  mind,  the  populace 

*  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  973. 

t  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  830 ;  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  985. 
t  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  922 ;  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  838-~842. 
§  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  933.  ||  lb.,  920.  IT  lb.,  934. 

**  lb.,  1252.  tt  lb.,  957. 

iX  Journals  of  the  House  of  Commons,  January  27,  1648  j  Walker, 
72,  79. 


\ 


\ 


IS 


i 


896 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


397 


of  the  party,  congratulated  themselves  on  these  measures  as 
signal  proofs  of  their  strength,  and  redoubled  their  ardor. 
firnmwftU  alone,  though  co-operating  in,  felt  uneasy   about 
fe^Tnotfrom  any  scruple,  nor  that  he  hesitated  at  anything 
tending  to  success ;  but,  despite  his  resolutions  against  the 
king,  the  hopes  and  pretensions  of  the  republicans  and  enthu- 
siasts  appeared  to  him  insane.     Throughout  the  country  he 
"  saw  the  principal  freeholders,  the  rich  citizens,  almost  every 
*  person  of  any  note,  retiring  from  public  affairs,  forsaking  the 
committees  of  management  and  local  magistracies,  and  power 
'^  passing  into  the  hands  of  people  of  an  inferior  condition,  eager 
to  seize  it,  capable  of  exercising  it  with  vigor,  but  ill-fitted  to 
i  retain  it.     He  could  not  believe  that  England  would  long  con- 
sent  to  be  thus  governed,  or  that  anything  at  all  permanent 
could  be  founded  on  the  legal  oppression  of  so  many  and  such 
considerable  citizens,  nor  that  the  discord  and  anarchy  daily 
increasing  in  parliament  and  under  its  sway,  could  end  other- 
wise  than  in  the  destruction  of  the  conquerors.     His  indefati- 
gable  imagination  was  set  to  work  to  find  out  some  means  ot 
putting  an  end  to  this  state  of  things,  or  at  least  to  discover  in 
this  dark  chaos  his  own  quickest  and  safest  road  to  greatness. 
He  assembled,  one  day  at  dinner  at  his  house,  the  principal 
independents  and  presbyterians,  clerical  and  lay,  and  earnestly 
expatiated  on  the  necessity  of  conciliation,  or  at  least  of  sus- 
pending  their  quarrels,  in  order  to  face  together  the  new  dan- 
gers  it  was  easy  to  see  were  impending.     But  the  humor  ot 
the  presbyterians  was  too  unbending,  and  their  theological  pre- 
tensions  too  exclusive  to  admit  of  such  combinations.     The 
conference  was  without  result.     Cromwell  got  up  another  of 
some  political  leaders,  most  of  them  general  officers  like  him- 
self,  and  the  republicans.     It  was  necessary,  he  said,  that  they 
should  in  concert  investigate  what  government  best   suited 
England,  as  it  was  now  their  part  to  regulate  it ;  but,  in  reality, 
he  aimed  at  discovering  which  among  them  was  likely  to  hold 
out,  and  what  he  had  to  expect  or  fear  from  them.     Ludlow, 
Vane,  Hutchinson,  Sidney,  and  Haslerig,  loudly  declared  their 
feelings,  rejecting  all  idea  of  a  monarchy  as  condemned  by 
the  Bible,  by  reason,  and  by  experience.     The  generals  were 
more  reserved ;  according  to  them,  a  republic  was  desirable, 
but  its  success  doubtful ;  it  was  better  to  come  to  no  sudden 
determination,  but  to  watch  the  progress  of  things,  the  neces- 


sities  of  the  times,  and  obey  from  day  to  day  the  directions  of 
Providence.  The  republicans  insisted  upon  an  unequivocal 
declaration.  The  discussion  grew  warm;  Ludlow,  among 
others,  pressed  Cromwell  hard  to  declare  himself,  for  they 
were  resolved,  he  said, -to  know  who  were  their  friends. 
Cromwell  evaded  the  point  for  awhile,  till,  at  last,  urged  more 
and  more,  he  suddenly  rose,  and,  with  a  forced  jest,  hastily 
quitted  the  room,  flinging  as  he  went  out  a  cushion  at  Ludlow's 
head,  who  sent  another  after  him,  "  which,"  says  Ludlow, 
"  made  him  hasten  down  stairs  faster  than  he  desired."* 

Meantime,  the  danger  drew  nigh  ;  the  number  and  boldness 
of  the  malcontents  increased  every  day  :  not  only  in  the  west 
and  north,  but  around  London,  in  Middlesex,  Essex,  Surrey, 
and  Kent,  at  the  table  of  some  rich  gentleman,  at  the  assizes, 
at  the  markets,  in  every  place  where  the  cavaliers  could  con- 
cert or  mix  with  the  people,  royalist  petitions,  plans,  and 
insurrections,  were  got  up  and  openly  announced.  At  Can- 
terbury, on  Christmas  day,  as  the  mayor  was  endeavoring  to 
enforce  the  ordinance  which  suppressed  that  festival,  a  violent 
tumult  arose,  amid  the  cry  :  "  God,  king  Charles,  and  the 
county  of  Kent !"  The  city  arsenal  was  broken  open,  several 
houses  of  parliamentarians  attacked,  the  municipal  officers 
very  roughly  handled,  and,  but  for  the  prompt  arrival  of  some 
troops,  the  peasants  of  the  neighborhood  would  have  joined  the 
movement  and  carried  it  out.f  In  London,  one  Sunday  in 
church  time,  some  apprentices  were  playing  at  bowls  in  Moor- 
fields  (April  9,  1648) ;  a  guard  of  militia  ordered  them  to  dis- 
perse, they  resisted,  and  beat  off  the  militia ;  routed  in  their 
turn  by  a  detachment  of  cavalry,  they  spread  all  over  the  city, 
calling  to  their  aid  their  companions  and  the  Thames  water- 
men; numerous  bands  assembled  in  every  direction;  they 
met  in  the  night,  took  two  of  the  gates  of  the  city  by  surprise, 
stretched  chains  across  the  streets,  and  with  drums  beating 
and  shouts  of  "God  and  king  Charles,"  attacked  the  Mansion- 
house,  got  possession  of  a  cannon,  then  of  a  magazine  of  arms, 
and  at  daybreak  seemed  masters  of  the  city.  A  council  of 
war  had  sat  all  night ;  they  hesitated  to  attack  the  rebels  ; 
they  questioned  whether  the  two  regiments  quartered  in  Lon- 
don would  be  sufficient,  whether  it  would  not  be  best  to  await 


•  Ludlow,  103. 
84 


t  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  948. 


898 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


reinforcements.     Fairfax  and  Cromwell  decided  for  an  imme- 
diate attack :  it  was  as  immediately  successful ;  in  two  hours 
nothing  was  to  be  heard  in  the  streets  but  the  regular  step  of 
the  troops  reluming  to  their  quarters.*     But  though  they  had 
fled,  the  people  were  not  conquered  ;  every  day  some  unex- 
pected  event  happened  to  augment  their  anger  and  raise  their 
courage ;  the  presbyterian  members  and  city  aldermen,  when 
brought  by  the  commons  before  the  upper  house,  obstinately 
refused  to  acknowledge  its  jurisdiction,  to  kneel  at  the  bar,  or 
even  to  take  off  their  hats  and  listen  to  the  reading  of  the 
charges ;  and  every  time  they  appeared  at  Westminster,  the 
multitude,  as  they  came  forth,  hailed  them  with  transport.f 
Public  meetings  were  forbidden  ;  the  committee  of  manage- 
ment  of  each  county  was  empowered  to  arrest  and  commit  to 
prison  all  the  disaffected— nay,  all  the  suspected  (April  18)4 
but  public  excitement  made  more  rapid  progress  than  tyranny: 
at  Norwich,  Bury  St.  Edmunds,  Thetford,  Stowmarket,  and  a 
multitude  of  other  places,  upon  the  slightest  pretext,  the  drum 
beat,  the  inhabitants  flew  to  arms,  and  the  troops  did  not  always 
find  a  mere  menacing  display  answer  the  purpose  of  repres- 
sion.§     They  had  soon,  moreover,  other  things  to  dread  than 
mere   riots,  mere   citizen   mobs.     In   Pembrokeshire,  South 
Wales,  captains  Poyer  and  Powel  and  major-general  Lang- 
horn,  distinguished  officers,  who  had  made  their  way  in  the 
parliamentary  army,  forsook  it  (towards  the  end  of  Feb.),|| 
raised  the  royal  standard,  and  supported  by  the  cavaliers  of 
the  district,  saw  the  whole  country  in  a  few  days  in  their 
power.     At  about  the  same  time,  the  Scottish  parliament  met 
(March  2).     Hamilton  and  the  royalists,  masked  by  an  alliance 
of  the  moderate  presbyterians,  had  prevailed  in  the  elections ; 
in  vain  had  Argyle  and  the  more  violent  of  the  clergy  endea- 
vored to  thwart  them;    as   vainly  had  commissioners  from 
London  lavishly  distributed  money  and  threats  in  Edinburgh ; 
circumspect,  even  humble  in  its  language  to  the  fanatics,  but 
in  reality  favorable  to  the  king,  the  parliament  immediately 

*  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  1051 ;  Whitelocke,  299;  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  875. 
t  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  844,  874,  877,  880,  881. 
X  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  1062. 

§  Rushworth,  ii.,  4, 1071, 1119 ;  Journals,  Lords,  May  19th ;  Journals, 
Commons,  June  12th. 
jl  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  1016. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


399 


voted  (May  3)  the  formation  of  a  committee  of  danger  invested 
with  the  executive  power,  and  the  levy  of  an  army  of  forty 
thousand  men,  charged  to  defend,  against  the  republicans  and 
sectaries,  the  covenant  and  royalty.*  The  cavaliers  in  the 
north  of  England  only  awaited  the  signal  to  break  out.  For 
more  than  a  month  past  their  principal  leaders,  Langdale, 
Glenham,  and  Musgrave,  had  been  living  in  Edinburgh,  some- 
times openly  and  sometimes  in  secret,  concerting  with  Hamil- 
ton their  plan  of  insurrection.  In  Ireland,  lord  Inchiquiii,  lord- 
lieutenant  of  the  province  of  Munster,  and  hitherto  the  surest 
support  of  parliament  against  the  insurgents,  also  went  over  to 
the  king's  standard.f  Finally,  when  all  this  news  came  to 
London,  the  presbyterians,  both  in  parliament  and  in  the  city, 
raised  their  heads  :  and  to  cover  their  hopes,  made  a  loud  out- 
cry about  their  fears.  A  man  named  John  Everard,  came  and 
made  oath  to  the  common  council  (April  23)  that,  two  nights 
before,  being  in  bed  at  the  Garter  inn  at  Windsor,  he  had 
heard  in  the  adjoining  room,  several  officers,  among  others 
quarter-master-general  Grosvenor  and  colonel  Ewers,  promise 
each  other  that  the  moment  the  Scots  set  foot  in  the  kingdom 
the  army  should  enter  the  city,  disarm  all  the  citizens,  exact 
from  them  a  million  sterling  under  pain  of  pillage,  and  send, 
moreover,  at  the  city  expense,  all  the  well-disposed  they  could 
collect,  to  the  various  regiments.  According  to  Everard,  Ire- 
ton  was  acquainted  with  this  design. J  Hereupon  a  petition 
was  forthwith  drawn  up  and  presented  to  the  house  (April  27) ; 
in  it  the  common  council  required  that  the  city  should  again 
be  put  in  possession  of  its  chains,  which  had  been  taken  from 
it  after  the  late  riots,  that  the  army  should  remove  its  head- 
quarters to  a  greater  distance,  and  that  all  the  forces  in  London 
and  the  suburbs  should  be  placed  under  the  command  of 
Skippon.  These  demands  were  immediately  granted ;  and 
the  next  day,  the  28th  of  April,  after  a  debate  of  which  no 
record  exists,  the  commons  voted:  1,  that  they  would  not 
change  the  fundamental  government  of  the  kingdom  by  king, 
lords,  and  commons  ;  2,  that  the  proposals  made  to  the  king 

•Baillie,  Letters,  ii.,  281;  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  1040;  Laing,  iii., 

394—400. 

t  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  1060,  1063;  Carte,  Life  of  Ormond,  ii.,  23; 
Clarendon,  iii.,  150. 
IParl.  Hist,  iii.,  881. 


400 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


401 


at  Hampton  Court  should  be  made  the  ba^is  of  the  measures 
it  was  essential  to  adopt  to  re-establish  public  peace  ;  3,  that, 
notwithstanding  the  vote  of  the  preceding  3d  of  January  for- 
bidding  any  further  address  to  the  king,  every  member  should 
be  at  liberty  to  propose  what  he  should  think  requisite  for  the 
good  of  the  country.* 

For  three  weeks  Cromwell  had  foreseen  and  endeavored  to 
prevent  this  reverse  :  in  the  name  of  the  leaders  of  the  arniy 
and  of  the  party,  he  had  caused  an  offer  to  be  made  to  the 
common  council  (April  18),  that  the  command  of  its  "i^l^t^^ 
and  of  the  Tower  should  be  restored  to  the  city,  and  that  the 
accused  aldermen  should  be  set  at  liberty,  if  it  pledged  itself 
to  take  no  part  in  aid  of  the  Scots  in  their  approaching  inva- 
sion  :  but  his  offers  had  been  rejected.f     Compelled  to  resign 
all  hopes  of  conciliation,  when  he  saw  the  presbyterians  re- 
gaining courage  in  the  city  and  credit  in  the  parhament  he 
was  filled  with  a  passionate  desire  to  risk  a  decisive  blow. 
He  went  to  head-quarters,  assembled  the  council  of  officers 
and  proposed  that  the  army  should  march  upon  London,  expe 
all  their  adversaries  from  parliament,  and  in  a  word,  take  full 
possession  of  power  in  the  name  of  the  well   affec  ed  and  ol 
the  public  safety.     In  the  first  instance,  the  council  was  about 
to  adopt  the  proposal,  but  so  violent  an   attack  on  the  rights 
of  a  parliament,  long  the  idol  and  master  of  the  country,  still 
alarnied  the  boldest ;  they  hesitated.     Fairfax,  who  began  to 
be  uneasy  at  what  he  was  doing,  took  advantage  of  this,  and 
resisted  the  entreaties  of  the  lieutenant-general,  who  wished 
to  give  orders  for  the  movement  at  once  ;  the  project  was 
abandoned.!     Discomfited  by  this  second  failure,  suspected  by 
some  for  his  endeavors  at  accommodation,  by  others  lor  the 
violence  of  his  designs,  Cromwell,  unable  to  endure  such  in- 
action,  such  embarrassment,  resolved  at  once  to  leave  London, 
to  march  and  fight  the  insurgents  in  the  west,  and  regain  by 
war  the   ascendency  he   felt  he  was  losing.     He  easi  y  ob- 
tained this  mission  from  the  parliament.     While  the  troops 
which  were  to  accompany  him  were  making  their  preparations 
for  departure,  he  one  day  complained  to  Ludlow  of  his  situa- 
tion,  went  over  all  he  had  done  for  the  common  cause,  what 
perils,  what  enmity  he  had  braved,  and  exclaimed  agamst  the 

•  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  882,  883.  t  Walker,  83.  t  Fairfax,  UO. 


ingratitude  of  his  party.  Ludlow  listened  to  his  complaints, 
and  reminded  him,  in  his  turn,  of  the  grounds  he  had  given 
for  distrust,  pressed  him  to  renounce  intrigue  and  ambition, 
and  upon  this  condition  promised  him  the  cordial  support  of 
the  republicans,  and  was  delighted  with  the  docile  attention 
his  exhortations  had  obtained.*  A  few  days  afler,  at  the  head 
of  five  regiments,  Cromwell  took  his  departure  for  Wales,  and 
almost  at  the  gates  of  London,  at  a  meeting  previously  ar- 
ranged, some  presbyterian  ministers  had  a  conference  with 
him,  from  which  they  retired  equally  satisfied.f 

He  was  no  sooner  gone,  than  the  war  he  went  to  seek  broke 
out  on  all  sides  round  parliament :  the  cavaliers  had,  indeed, 
atrreed  among  themselves  to  attempt  nothing  till  the  Scots  had 
entered  the  country  ;  but  every  day,  in  one  place  or  other,  the 
popular  impulse,  a  favorable  opportunity,  some  unexpected 
and  apparently  imperative  circumstance,  precipitated  the  in- 
surrection. Some  inhabitants  of  Essex  had  petitioned  that 
negotiations  should  be  re-opened  with  the  king,  and  the  army 
disbanded,  after  the  payment  of  arrears  (May  4).$  Following 
their  example,  seven  or  eight  hundred  gentlemen,  freeholders, 
and  farmers  of  Surrey,  repaired  to  London  (May  13),  bearing 
a  similar  petition  ;  but  its  tone  was  far  more  haughty  ;  it  re- 
quired that  the  king,  recalled  to  Whitehall,  should  be  replaced 
on  his  throne  with  the  splendor  of  his  ancestors  ;  and  when 
they  arrived  at  Westminster,  as  they  were  passing  through 
the  ante-rooms,  some  of  them,  addressing  the  soldiers,  said^: 
"  Why  stand  you  there  to  guard  a  company  of  rogues  ?" 
The  soldiers  warmly  resented  this  affront ;  a  quarrel  rose, 
the  soldiers  were  disarmed  and  one  of  them  killed.  A  rein- 
forcement of  troops  arrived  ;  and  the  petitioners,  charged  in 
tHeir  turn,  pursued  from  passage  to  passage,  from  hall  to  hall, 
from  street  to  street,  did  not,  however,  fly  till  after  a  vigorous 
resistance,  leaving  five  or  six  of  their  number  dead  at  the 
doors  of  parliament.^  On  hearing  this,  the  royalists  of  Kent, 
who  were  also  preparing  a  petition,  formed  themselves  into 
divisions  of  foot  and  horse,  chose  officers,  appointed  places  of 
rendezvous,  made  Goring,  earl  of  Norwich,  their  general, 
took  possession  of  Sandwich,  Dover,   and  several  forts,  and 

*  Ludlow,  105.         t  Hutchinson,  288.       t  R^s^worth,  ii.,  4,  1101. 
§  Rushworth,  ii.,4,  1116;  Pari.  Hist.,  m.,  886;  Whitelocke,  306; 
Ludlow,  103. 

34* 


402 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


403 


assembled  at  Rochester  (May  29),  to  the  number  of  more 
than  seven  thousand,  mutually  engaged  to  march  together  and 
in  arms  to  present  their  petition  to  parliament.*  As  soon  as 
the  banner  of  revolt  was  raised  upon  this  pretext,  others 
openly  unfurled  it,  without  taking  the  trouble  of  drawing  up, 
in  the  form  of  petition  or  otherwise,  their  grievances  and  their 
wishes.  Sir  Charles  Lucas  in  Essex,  lord  Capel  in  Hertford- 
shire,  sir  Gilbert  Byron  in  the  neighborhood  of  Nottingham, 
openly  raised  troops  for  the  king's  service.  Parliament  heard 
that,  in  the  north,  in  order  to  open  the  way  for  the  Scots  into 
the  kingdom,  Langdale  and  Musgrave  had  surprised,  and  now 
occupied,  the  one  Berwick,  the  other  Carlisle.f  Some  symp- 
toms  of  excitement  also  appeared  in  the  fleet  stationed  in  the 
Powns  ;  Rainsborough,  who  was  vice-admiral,  set  off  imme- 
diately to  repress  it ;  but  the  sailors  refused  to  receive  him 
(May  27),  put  all  their  oflicers  in  a  boat,  sent  them  on  shore, 
declared  for  the  king,  and  without  any  leader  above  the  de- 
gree of  boatswain,  sailed  for  Holland,  where  the  duke  of 
York,  who  had  lately  succeeded  in  making  his  escape  from 
St.  James's,  and  soon  after  the  prince  of  Wales  himself,  took 
the  command  of  them.ij:  Even  in  London,  men  were  pri- 
vately enlisted,  royalist  oaths  circulated,  and  armed  bands 
passed  through  the  city  to  join  the  insurgents  ;§  the  houses 
of  the  earl  Holland  and  of  the  young  duke  of  Buckingham 
were  at  all  hours  filled  with  malcontents,  who  came  to  inquire 
on  what  day,  at  what  place,  they  were  to  assemble  in  arms.|| 
In  every  direction,  in  short,  the  insurrection,  like  an  un- 
quenchable conflagration,  raged  and  extended,  still  more  and 
more  closely  pressing  upon  Westminster  ;  all  the  efforts  of  the 
committee  of  Derby  House,  where  the  independents  prevailed, 
all  the  skill  of  Vane  and  St.  John,  in  finding  out  informers 
and  unravelling  plots,ir  did  not  prevent  the  cry  of  "  God  and 
king  Charles  !"  from  sounding  constantly  in  the  ear  of  parlia- 

ment. 
'  The  presbyterians  themselves  took  alarm  ;  the  boots,  their 

•  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  1130.  t  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  1099,  1105. 

X  Clarendon,  iii.,  204 ;  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  896,  899,  906 ;  Godwin,  Hist 
of  the  Commonwealth,  ii.,  531—533,  551—556. 

§  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  1117,  1174  ;  Pari.  Hist,  in.,  892—893. 
II  Whitelocke,  317  ;  Clarendon,  iii.,  264. 
IT  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  887—892. 


firmest  support,  did  not  arrive  ;  ihey  found  themselves  on  the 
Doint  of  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  cavaliers,  the  sole  mas- 
ters  of  this  new  movement,  and  who  having  no  better  liking 
for  Presbyterian  doctrines  and  intentions  than  for  any  others, 
indiscriminately  denounced  the  whole  parliament,  demanded 
the  laws  and  the  king  of  old  England,  insultmgly  defied  the 
austere  ricrors  of  the  new  form  of  worship,  openly  practised 
forbidden  games,  celebrated  suppressed  festivals,  and  raised 
once  more  the  maypoles.*     Hammond  sent  word  that  the  king 
had  been  on  the  point  of  effecting  his  escape  (May  31)  ;t  and 
the  most  moderate  shuddered  with  fear  at  the  thought  of  his 
appearing  all  at  once  at  the  gates  of  London  at  the  head  of 
these  thousands  of  insurgents :  party  hatreds,  the  desire  for 
peace,  alarm  for  the  future,  all  gave  way  before  this  great 
danger    To  deprive  the  rebellion  of  its  most  specious  pretexts, 
negotiations  with  the  king  were  again  voted  (May  8  and  24   ;| 
the  aldermen  of  the  city  were   fully  acquitted  ^May  23)  ;§ 
Skippon  took  the  command  of  the  militia,  colonel  West  that 
of  the  Tower,  from  which  he  had  been  removed  by  Fairfax 
mav  18^  :11  and  an  ordinance  against  heresy  and  swearing, 
which  authorized  even  the  infliction  of  death  in  certain  cases, 
attested  the  return  of  presbyterian  ascendency  ;1I  but,  at  he 
same  time,  all  idea  of  concession  or  forbearance  towards  the 
cavaliers  was  sternly  rejected  ;    a   fresh  order  was  issued, 
banishinrr  from  London,  under  still  more  severe  penalties  than 
before  (May  23),**  all  papists  and  "^^1^8"^"^^  V.      P"^^'!.^ 
of  delinquents  was  appropriated  to  paying  the  debts  due  to  the 
friends  of  the  good  cause  (May  ll);tt  the  sale  of  church 
lands  was  hastened  ;#  reinforcements  were  sent  to  the  gairi- 

•  Whitelocke,  305.  ^.        j        •••     or.o 

t  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  899-909,  921-928;  Clarendon   in    3o3. 
t  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  885-892.  §  lb-,  ^9- 

IIRushworth,  ii.,  4,  1118.  ++Ib     ?110 

n  HaSif^'f  Cromwell,  306.-In  the  courVe  of'the  years  1647 
1648,  164?,' 1650,  and  1651,  there  was  sold  property  belonging- 
To  the  see  ofYork,  to  the  amount  of        £65,7bb     7     i^ 

the  see  of  Durham 

—  the  see  of  Carlisle 

—  the  see  of  Chester 


68,121  15  9 
6,449  11  2 
1,129  18     4 


Total 


£141,487  12    41 


!■ 


404 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


405 


son  of  Carisbrook  (towards  the  end  of  May)  ;*  the  common 
council,  after  having'received  communications  which  were  to 
it,  it  said,  "  as  a  beam  of  light  piercing  through  dark  clouds," 
solemnly  protested  that  it  was  resolved  to  live  and  die  with  the 
parliament  (May  20).t  Finally,  Fairfax  received  orders  im- 
mediately  to  open  a  campaign  against  the  bands  who  infested 
the  neighborhood  of  London  ;  Lambert  to  march  to  the  north, 
to  repress,  at  all  events,  the  insurrection  that  Langdale  and 
Musgrave  had  raised  while  waiting  for  the  arrival  of  the  Scots ; 
and  by  a  violence  till  then  unheard  of,  doubtless  to  prove  the 
sincerity  of  their  rigorous  proceedings,  the  commons  voted 
that  the  king's  presence  no  longer  affording  an  excuse  for  the 
rebels,  no  quarter  should  be  given  them  (May  11)4 

Three  days  after  his  departure  from  London  (June  1), 
Fairfax  had  come  up  to  and  beaten,  at  Maidstone,  the  princi- 
pal body  of  the  insurgents  ;  in  vain  had  they  sought  to  avoid 
so  sudden  an  encounter  ;  in  vain,  when  obliged  to  fight,  had 
they  maintained,  in  the  streets  of  the  town,  a  long  and  bloody§ 
conflict.  Still  animated  by  the  most  ardent  fanaticism,  inured 
to  war,  detesting  the  cavaliers,  and  despising  their  new  re- 
cruits,  Fairfax's  soldiers  passionately  pressed  forward  a  war 
the  dangers  of  which  seemed  almost  an  insult.  They  tra- 
versed  by  forced  marches  the  county  of  Kent,  daily  dispersing 
some  gathering  or  retaking  some  place,  rough  in  their  demea- 
nor  towards  the  country,  but  exact  in  their  discipline,  and 
allowing  the  royalists  neither  refuge  nor  repose.  Goring, 
nevertheless,  succeeded  in  again  assembling  three  or  four 
thousand  men,  and  appeared  at  their  head  on  Blackheath  (June 
3),  almost  at  the  gates  of  London,  incited  by  the  hope  that  an 
insurrection  would  break  out  at  his  approach,  or  that  at  least 
he  should  receive  some  secret  assistance.  He  even  wrote  to 
the  common  council,  requesting  leave  to  pass  through  the  city 
in  order  to  proceed  quietly  with  his  men  into  Essex.  But  the 
council,  so  far  from  sending  him  an  answer,  forwarded,  with- 
out opening  it,  his  letter  to  the  commons,  prepared,  it  sent 
word,  to  regulate  its  conduct  in  all  things  according  to  their 
wishes.  II     Upon  hearing  this  the  cavaliers  grew  dispirited,  and 

♦Rushworth,  ii.,  4, 1130.  ^  ^  ^' 

t  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  890.  t  Journals,  Commons. 

&  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  1137;  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  902;  Ludlow,  107. 
\\  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  1130 ;  Whitelocke,  309  ;  Ludlow,  ut  sup. 


disorder  spread  among  them  ;  tKey  deserted  in  troops,  and 
Goring  had  great  difficulty  in  collecting  a  sufficient  number 
of  boats  for  them  to  cross  the  Thames  at  Greenwich  with 
seven  or  eight  hundred  men,  who  followed  him  into  Essex. 
There  he  found  the  insurrection,  under  the  direction  of  sir 
Charles  Lucas,  still  powerful  and  confident.  Lord  Capel 
joined  them  with  a  troop  of  cavaliers  from  Hertfordshire  ; 
they  marched  together  for  Colchester  (June  12),  with  some- 
what raised  spirits,  intending  to  rest  there  for  a  day  or  two 
and  then  overrun  together  Suffolk  £ftid  Norfolk,  raise  the  roy- 
alists as  they  went,  and  march  upon  London  through  Cam- 
bridge at  the  head  of  a  numerous  army.  But  they  had 
scarcely  entered  the  town,  when  Fairfax  appeared  under  the 
walls  and  closely  invested  it  (June  13).  A  fortnight's  cam- 
paign had  thus  sufficed  to  enclose  in  one  town,  almost  without 
means  of  defence,  the  wreck  of  the  insurrection  which  had  so 
lately  surrounded  London  on  all  sides.  The  insurgents  en- 
deavored to  rally  at  several  points,  in  the  counties  of  Rutland, 
Northampton,  Lincoln,  and  Sussex.*  In  the  city  itself, 
under  the  eyes  of  parliament,  lords  Holland,  Peterborough,  and 
Buckingham,  took  arms ;  and,  followed  by  about  a  thousand 
cavaliers,  marched  out  of  London  (July  5),  proclaiming  that 
they  had  no  design  of  sacrificing  public  liberty  to  the  king, 
and  only  desired  to  restore  to  him  his  legal  rights.  But  while 
they  were  still  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  metropolis,  sir  Mi- 
chael  Livesey,  who  had  been  sent  from  head-quarters  against 
tliem,  suddenly  attacked  them  (July  7),  killed  several  of  their 
officers,  among  others  the  young  sir  Francis  Villiers,  brother 
to  the  duke  of  Buckingham,  and  reinforced  next  day  by  colo- 
nel Scrope's  regiment,  pursued  them  without  respite  into 
Huntingdonshire,  where,  weary  of  this  constant  retreating, 
they  dispersed  in  all  directions,  leaving  lord  Holland  wounded 
in  the  hands  of  the  enemy  (July  10).f  In  the  east  and  south, 
similar  attempts  had  no  better  result.  Letters  were  received 
from  Cromwell  (June  16),  promising  that  in  a  fortnight  Pem- 
broke Castle,  the  bulwark  of  the  insurgents  in  the  west,  would 
be  in  his  power.:):     In  the  North,  Lambert,  though  with  infe- 

♦Rushworth,   ii.,   4,    1135,   1145,  1149,   1150,    1169;    Ludlow,  i., 

t  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  1178,  1180,  1182,  1187;  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  925— 
927  ;  Ludlow,  110 ;  Clarendon,  iii.,  266. 
t  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  1159. 


Hi* 


406 


HISTOEY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


407 


rior  forces,  valiantly  maintained  the  honor  and  authority  of 
parliament  against  Langdale's  cavaliers.*  Fma  ly  Colches- 
ter,  notwithstanding  the  indomitable  resistance  of  the  besieged, 
alike  unmoved  by  offers  and  by  attacks,  was  assailed  by 
famine,  and  could  not  hold  out  long  against  Fairfax,  who  had 

nothing  else  to  attend  to.f 

Freid  from  their  first  anxiety,  sure  of  not  falling  a  prey  to 
the  cavaliers,  the  presbyterians  again  began  to  |eel  uneasy 
about  the  independents  and  the  army,  and  to  meditate  peace. 
The  petitions  in  favor  of  It,"  still  numerous,  though  less  im- 
perious,  were  now  better  received  4     The  proscription  of  the 
ileven  members  was  revoked,  and  they  were  invited  to  re- 
sume  their  seats  (June  8).§     New  proposals  to  the  king,  less 
rigorous  than  the  former,  were  talked  of;  a  disposition  was 
shown  to  resume  negotiations  with  him,  if  he  would  consent- 
1    to  repeal  all  his  proclamations  against  the  parfiament ;  2, 
to  give  up  to  it  for  ten  years  the  disposal  of  the  sea  and  land 
forces ;  3,  to  establish  throughout  the  kingdom  the  presbyte- 
nan  church  for  three  years  (June  6).|1     ^^^Pf c''^'  <=7'";"f; 
rjune  26)1t  was  appointed  to  consider  the  best  mode  of  attain- 
ne  the  desired  object,  and  at  what  time,  in  what  place,  and 
in  what  form  it  would  be  proper  to  treat.     One  member  even 
inquired  whether  it  would  not  be  desirable  for  the  king  imme- 
diately  to  return  to  Windsor;**  and  upon  a  Petition  to  that 
effect  f-rom  the  city  (June  27),  the  lords  voted  that  the  co„ 
ferences  should  be  held  at  London^ft    t-n^lly,  °"  ^^.^Oth o 
June,  the  vote  forbidding  any  further  address  to  the  k>n^  was 
rescinded  ;«  and  three  days  after,  a  motion  was  made   n   he 
house  of  commons  that  another  treaty  should  be  offered  to  the 

kinff  without  delay.  ,         /. ,  ,j 

But  the  independents  had  also  regained  confidence ;  proud 
of  the  success  of  their  soldiers,  they  violently  opposed  this 
motion:  "No  time,"  said  Thomas  Scott,  "  ^^^^e  seasonable 
for  such  a  treaty,  or  for  a  peace  with  so  perfidious  and  im- 
placable  a  prince  ;  it  will  always  be  too  soon  or  too  late.  He 
that  draws  his  sword  upon  the  king  must  throw  his  scabbard 

•  Rushworth,  1159  ;  Clarendon,  iii.,  228. 

t  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  1204  ;  Vfhitelocke  passim. 

X  Pari.  Hist ,  iii.,  921.  §  /,    'iifid  +'J  Journis  Lords. 

IT  Rushworth,  ii.  4,  1164.    .       **  lb.,  1162.  tt  Journals,  l-oru 

XX  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  921.  ^ 


into  the  fire ;  all  peace  with  him  would  prove  the  spoil  of  the 
godly."     The  presbyterians  did  not  undertake  to  defend  the 
kinnf,  but  they  declaimed  against  the  pseudo-godly,  who  advo- 
cated war  because  war  was  conducive  to  their  private  for- 
tunes.    "  The  people,"  they  said,  "  have  been  despoiled  by 
war,  and  will  no  longer  be  made   fuel  to  that  fire  wherein 
these  salamanders  live,  nor  any  longer  feed  those  horse-leech- 
es, the  army,  their  engaged  party  and  servants,  with  their  own 
blood  and  marrow."     It  was  then  asked  where  the  negotia- 
tions were   to   be  opened:    the   presbyterians  contended   for 
London,  or  some  place  in  the  neighborhood,  the  independents 
for  the   Isle  of  Wight,  where  Charles  was  in  their  power. 
"  If  you  treat  with  this  enraged  king  in  London,"  said  Scott, 
"  who  can  secure  the  parliament  that  the  city  will  not  make 
their  peace  with  him  by  delivering  up  your  heads  to  him  for  a 
sacrifice,  as  the  men  of  Samaria  did  the  heads  of  the  seventy 
sons  of  Ahab  ?  "     It  was  further  said  by  colonel  Harvey, 
"  if  the  king  promised  to  reside  in  one  of  his  houses  not  nearer 
London  than  ten  miles,  what  security  would  his  word  be  that 
he  would  remain  there  till  the  treaty  was  concluded  ?     The 
king's  promise  hath  been  broken  over  and  over  again  :  put 
no  trust  in  princes."     Several  members  spoke  in  support  of 
this  view,  and  among  others  Vane.     Sir  Symonds  d'Ewes 
said  :  "  I  am  quite  of  a  contrary  opinion  ;  the  house  not  only 
ought,  but  must  trust  the  king ;   Mr.  Speaker,   if  you  know 
not  in  what  condition  you  are,  give  me  leave,  in  a  word,  to 
tell  you  it :  your  silver  is  clipped,  your  gold  shipped,  your 
ships  are  revolted,  yourselves  contemned  ;  your  Scots  friends 
enraged  against  you,  and  the  affection  of  the  city  and  king- 
dom quite  alienated  from  you.     Judge,  then,  whether  you  are 
not  in  a  low  condition,  and  also  if  it  be  not  high  time  to  en- 
deavor a  speedy  settlement  and  reconcilement  with  his  ma- 
jesty ?  "*  The  independents  vehemently  protested  against  this 
address ;  but  many  members,  strangers  to  faction,  and  in  the 
habit  of  supporting  either  party,  accordijig  to  circumstances, 
silently  approved  of  what  sir  Symonds  had  said  ;  parliament 
resolved  that  it  was  necessary  to  treat ;  but  the  house,  contra- 
ry to  the  wish  of  the  lords,  persisteaf  (by,  eighty  to  seventy- 
two)  in  requiring  from  the  king  the  adoption,  in  the  first  in- 


•  Walker,  108—110;  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  922—924. 
t  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  924. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


409 


408 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


stance,  of  the  three  bills,  and  nothing  was  decided  as  to  the 
P'Sa^ntTSrcotrn  tStere  discussing  the 
feSrof  their  taUing  place  ^U^^^f^  ^^^ 
the  king  or  P_arimraent      «hen  ne«s  arr  ^^^ 

reckoned  fourteen  thousand  men ;  the  ''°""  f^J^^^^^^.^Y 

=leTwaTe^  rsTir  cr^d  otrrsUa^^d  and 

ake'n  thrcommand  :  he  still  remained  in  .H°'  -^  ;  ^ven  L  ng 

S^;  started  by  so  man,  ob-^^^^  ^Tl^^^^t 

LnLbliged  him  to  hasten  his  departu.-e ;  and  ho  left  Scotland 
11  orovided,  and  pursued  by  the  mvectives  of  a  m"ltitude  oi 
fanatics  who  prophesied  the  ruin  of  an  army  employed  they 
StoVrstore'the  king  to  his  rights  before  Chnst  was  put  m 

P°Th:  newlof  Ae  invasion  none  the  less  agitated  all  England ; 
there  seemeli  no  means  of  resisting  it ;  Fairfax  was  st.U  kept 
tefote  CoTchester,  Cromwell  before  Pembroke :  msuvrect.o  , 

Sr^xSmSla^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
treme     the  people,  even  those  well  disposed  towards  them, 
we'e^s  invSe  as  ever  against  A«^  f  "^^-r^y  ^ft, 
them  with  insult,  recalled  to  one  another  how  they  had  lately 

*  Rush  worth,  ii.,  4,  1185.  ^    iisr 

I  Sw"oJfh:  j^4!ll«9Trfc^- 1":.  ^^^■'  ^-^-  '''■' 

Laing,  Hist,  of  Scotiand.  lu..  394. 


sold  the  king  they  now  pretended  to  deliver,  and  demanded 
that,  before  anything  else  was  done,  these  rapacious  and  lying 
foreigners  should  be  driven  from  the  kingdom.  A  motion  was 
made  in  the  house  of  commons  (July  14)  *  declaring  them 
public  enemies,  and  all  who  had  taken  part  in  inviting  them 
traitors  ;  ninety  members  voted  against  the  motion,  but  hesi- 
tatingly and  without  success  ;  it  was  rejected,  however,  in  the 
upper  house  (July  18).t  The  lords  resolved  that  the  negotia- 
tions with  the  king  should  be  hastened,^  and  in  the  lower  house 
the  presbyterians  (July  28,  by  71  to  64),§  carried  a  motion  no 
longer  to  insist  upon  the  three  bills  previously  made  the  pre- 
liminary condition  of  any  treaty.  But  without  troubling  itself 
about  theie  vicissitudes  in  the  daily  position  of  parties,  the 
Derby-house  committee,  still  under  the  influence  of  the  inde- 
pendents, sent  money  and  reinforcements  to  Lambert,  ordered 
Cromwell  to  forward  what  troops  he  could  spare  to  the  north, 
and  to  march  thither  himself  as  soon  as  he  should  be  at  liberty  ; 
and  the  republican  leaders  themselves,  humbling  their  distrust 
before  his  genius,  wrote  to  him  privately  to  fear  nothing,  but  to 
act  with  vigor,  and  rely  upon  them,  regardless  of  any  opposi- 
tion he  might  heretofore  have  met  with  at  their  hands.  || 

Cromwell  had  waited  for  neither  orders  nor  promises; 
already  a  month  since,  well  informed,  perhaps  by  Argyle  him- 
self, of  the  condition  and  movements  of  the  Scottish  army,  he 
had  sent  word  to  Lambert  to  fall  back  as  soon  as  it  appeared, 
to  avoid  an  engagement,  and  that  he  would  soon  be  ready  to 
support  him.  And  so  it  happened  ;  Pembroke  castle  capitu- 
lated three  days  after  the  invasion  (July  11)  ;  and  two  days 
after,  Cromwell  set  out,  at  the  head  of  five  or  six  thousand  men, 
ill  shod,  ill  clad,  but  proud  of  their  glory,  irritated  by  their 
perils,  full  of  confidence  in  their  leader,  of  contempt  for  their 
enemies,  eager  to  fight  and  certain  of  victory  :  "  Send  me  some 
shoes  for  my  poor  tired  soldiers,"  Cromwell  wrote  to  Derby, 
house  ;  "  they  have  a  long  march  to  take."ir  And  he  traversed 
nearly  all  England,  first  from  west  to  east,  then  from  south  to 
north,  with  a  rapidity  till  then  without  example,**  lavish,  on  his 

*  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  934.  t  lb.,  936. 

X  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  1183.  §  Pari.  Hist.,  in.,  956. 

II  Ludlow,  iii. ;  Godwin,  Hist,  of  the  Commonwealth,  ii.,  591. 
H  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  1206. 

**  He  took  his  road  from  Pembroke  to  Yorkshire,  through  Gloucester, 
Warwick,  Nottingham,  and  Doncaster. 

35 


410 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


way,  of  protestations,  of  pious  ebullitions,  intent  on  dispelling 
suspicions,  on  gaining  the  hearts  of  the  blindest  fanatics,  on 
enlisting  the  sympathies  of  his  soldiers.*  Thirteen  days  after 
his  departure,  his  cavalry  which  had  been  sent  in  advance,  had 
united  with  that  of  Lambert  (July  27),  and  he  rejoined  it  him. 
self  the.  7th  of  August,  at  Knaresborough  in  Yorkshire,  the  two 
corps  forming  together  nine  or  ten  thousand  men.  Meantime, 
the  Scots  had  advanced  by  the  western  road  through  Cumber- 
land, Westmoreland,  and  Lancashire,  but  they  \yere  full  of 
indecision,  made  long  halts,  were  scattered  over  a  line  of  fifteen 
or  twenty  miles,  were  internally  agitated  by  religious,  political, 
and  military  dissensions,  and  in  complete  ignorance  of  the 
enemy's  movements.  Suddenly,  Langdale,  whew  with  the 
English  insurgents  was  some  way  in  advance  of  the  main 
body,  to  the  left,  sent  word  to  Hamilton  that  Cromwell  was 
approaching,  that  he  had  certain  information  of  it,  and  that 
everything  announced  on  his  part  an  intention  of  giving  battle. 
<<  Impossible,"  replied  the  duke,  "  they  have  not  time  to  come ; 
if  Cromwell  is  so  near,  it  is  assuredly  only  with  a  very  few 
men,  and  he  will  take  good  care  not  to  attack  us  ;"  and  he  re- 
moved  his  head-quarters  to  Preston.  Another  message  (Auor. 
17)  soon  reached  him ;  Langdale 's  cavalry  was  already 
engaged  with  Cromwell's  ;  Langdale  promised  to  hold  out ;  his 
position  was  good,  his  men  in  spirits  ;  he  only  wanted  some 
reinforcements,  a  thousand  men  at  least,  and  he  would  give  the 
whole  army  time  to  rally  and  crush  the  enemy.  Hamilton 
promised  reinforcements;  Langdale  fought  for  four  hours; 
by  his  own  admission,  Cromwell  had  never  met  with  so 
desperate  a  resistance.  But  no  assistance  came,  and  the 
gallant  cavalier  was  obliged  to  yield.  Leaving  the  defeated 
English  to  an  undisturbed  retreat,  Cromwell  marched  straight 
upon  the  Scots,  who  were  hurrying  across  the  Ribble  to 
place  this  obstacle  between  him  and  them  ;  most  of  the  regi- 
ments were  already  on  the  other  side ;  only  two  brigades  of 
infantry,  and  Hamilton  himself  with  a  few  squadrons,  re- 
mained on  the  right  bank  to  cover  their  retreat ;  Cromwell  at 
once  dispersed  them,  and  passing  the  river  with  them,  and 
giving  his  troops  but  a  short  repose,  continued  next  morning 
(Aug.  18)  at  daybreak  his  pursuit  of  them,  still  marching  to- 
wards  the  south,  and  continuing,  even  in  flight,  their  invading 

•  Hutchinson,  288. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


411 


movement.  He  overtook  them  the  same  day  at  Wigan,  fifteen 
miles  from  Preston,  and  cut  their  rearguard  to  pieces.  The 
pride  of  two  victories,  the  hope  of  a  decisive  triumph,  the  very 
impatience  of  fatigue,  hourly  augmented  the  courage  of  his 
soldiers ;  the  pursuit  was  recommenced  the  next  day  (Aug. 
19),  and  with  even  greater  rapidity  and  determination.  Irri- 
tated in  their  turn  at  being  thus  pressed  upon  by  an  inferior 
number,  and  meeting  with  an  advantageous  defile  near  War- 
rington, the  Soots  suddenly  turned  and  faced  them,  and  a  third 
battle  took  place,  longer  and  more  bloody  than  the  previous 
two,  but  with  the  same  result.  The  English  carried  the  defile, 
and  afterwards,  also  at  Warrington,  a  bridge  over  the  Mersey, 
which  the  Scots  were  about  to  break  down,  in  order  to  give 
themselves  breathing  time.  Vociferous  dismay  no\v  manifested 
itself  in  the  Scottish  army  ;  a  council  of  war  declared  that  the 
infantry,  being  without  ammunition,  could  no  longer  resist ; 
it  surrendered  in  a  body.  Hamilton,  at  the  head  of  the  cavalry, 
went  off  towards  Wales,  to  revive  the  royalist  insurrection 
there ;  but,  suddenly  changing  his  mind,  he  proceeded  to  the 
north-east,  in  the  hope  of  being  able  to  reach  Scotland  ;  but 
everywhere,  as  he  passed,  the  peasantry  rose  in  arms,  and  the 
magistrates  summoned  him  to  surrender;  at  Uttoxeter,  in 
Staffordshire,  on  hearing  a  rumor  that  he  purposed  to  escape 
with  a  few  officers,  his  own  cavalry  mutinied  ;  at  this  moment, 
Lambert  and  lord  Grey  of  Groby,  who  had  been  sent  in  pur- 
suit of  him,  were  close  at  hand  ;  too  faint-hearted  to  struggle 
against  so  adverse  a  fate,  he  (Aug.  25)  left  his  men  to  surren- 
der or  disband  at  their  pleasure,  accepted  himself  the  condi- 
tions proposed  by  Lambert,  was  sent  prisoner  to  Nottingham, 
and  after  a  fortnight's  campaign,  Cromwell,  finding  no  trace  of 
the  Scottish  army  on  English  ground,  marched  towards  Scot- 
land to  invade  it  in  his  turn,  and  thus  wrest  from  the  royalist 
presbyterians  all  means  of  action  and  of  safety.* 

But  in  extreme  peril,  parties,  so  far  from  giving  way,  often 
become  invigorated,  and  deal  out  their  hardest  blows.  Even 
before  this  important  intelligence  reached  Westminster,  as 
soon  as  they  saw  Cromwell  in  movement  against  the  Scots, 
the  presbyterians   clearly    comprehended   that   his   triumph 

*  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  1237;  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  997-1000;  Laing,  iii., 
400-403;  Godwin,  ii.,  563-572  ;  Baker,  A  Chronicle  of  the  Kings  of 
England,  &c.  (1665),  606. 


412 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


would  be  their  ruin,  and  that  his  downfall,  or  an  immediate 
peace,  could  alone  save  them.     They  at  once  directed  their 
most  energetic  efforts  to  secure  both  the  one  and  the  other  of 
these  objects.     Holies,  who,  notwithstanding  the  recall  of  the 
eleven  members,  had  hitherto  continued  to  reside  in  France, 
on  the  coast  of  Normandy,  came  and  resumed  his  seat  in  the 
house  of  commons  (Aug.  14)  *     Huntington,  lately  a  major 
in  Cromwell's  own  regiment,  publicly  denounced,  in  a  memo- 
rial addressed  to  the  upper  house,  the  intrigues  of  the  lieute- 
nant-general, his  promises  first,  and  then   his  perfidy  to  the 
king,  the  audacity  of  his  ambition,  his  contempt  of  parliament, 
of  the  laws,  of  the  common  duties  and  rights  of  men,  the  per- 
nicious  principles,  the  threatening  designs  which  sometimes 
pierced  through  his  hypocrisy,  and  broke  out  in  his  familiar 
conversations.     The  lords  ordered  the   memorial  to  be  read, 
and  Huntingdon  made  oath  of  its  truth  (Aug.  8).     He  pur- 
posed  likewise  to  present  it  to  the  commons,  but  so  great  was 
the  terror  already  inspired  by  the  name  of  Cromwell,  that  no 
member  would  take  charge  of  it.     He  sent  it  in  an  envelope 
to  the  speaker  ;  Lenthall  did  not  mention  it  to  the  house  ;  he 
attempted  to  give  it  to  the  serjeant-at-arms,  but  he  refused  to 
take  it ;  the  lords  transmitted   it  officially  to  the  commons  ; 
lord  Wharton,  one  of  Cromwell's  most  intimate  confidants,  fol- 
lowed the  messengers  out,  sent  word  to  the  speaker  what  they 
were  coming  with,  and  they  were  not  admitted. f     The  inde- 
pendents vehemently  denounced  all  these  attempts  against  their 
general  ;  they  denounced  it  as  base  cowardice  thus  to  attack 
an  absent  man,  who  was,  perhaps  at  that  very  hour,  delivering 
his  country  from  foreign  invasion,  and  many  of  the  presbyte- 
rians  themselves  were  intimidated  by  this  argument.     The 
idea  of  destroying  the  lieutenant-general  in  this  direct  man- 
ner was  given  up,  and   Huntingdon   contented   himself  with 
having  his  memorial   printed.     The  steps  taken  for  the  esta- 
blishment of  peace  had  more   success  ;  in  vain  did  the  inde- 
pendent leaders,   particularly   Vane   and   St.  John,   exhaust 
every  stratagem  to  prolong  the  debates  ;  in  vain  did  their  less 
refined  colleagues,   Scott,  Venn,   Harvey,  and  Weaver,  give 
way  to  the  fiercest  language   against  their  adversaries  ;  this 
very  violence,  the  daily  increasing  anarchy,  the  arrogance  of 

♦  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  1226. 

t  Pari.  Hist  ,  iii.,  965  ;  Whitelocke,  327. 


ENGLISH  REVOLUTION. 


413 


the  soldiers,  the  imperious  tone  of  even  the  most  pacific  pam- 
phlets and  petitions,  everything  manifested  to  the  house  its 
own  decline,  everything  led  those  who  were  not  too  deeply 
engaged  in  faction  to  desire  peace.  "  Mr.  Speaker,"  said 
Rudyard,  one  day,  "  we  have  sat  thus  long,  and  have  come 
to  a  fine  pass,  for  the  whole  kingdom  is  now  become  parlia- 
ment all  over ;  the  army  hath  taught  us  a  good  while  what  to 
do,  and  would  still  teach  us  what  we  shall  do ;  the  city,  the 
country,  and  reformadoes,  teach  us  what  we  should  do :  and 
all  because  we  ourselves  know  not  what  to  do  ;"*  and  the 
majority  thinking  with  him  that  peace  alone  could  relieve 
them  from  its  discreditable  embarrassments,  at  last  took  their 
resolution,  voted  that  fresh  negotiations  should  be  immediately 
opened  with  the  king,  agreed  (July  29)t,  to  silence  the  inde- 
pendents,  that  they  should  take  place  in  the  Isle  of  Wight, 
and  (August  2)X  charged  three  commissioners  to  proceed 
thither  wTth  a  formal  proposal  to  the  king,  requesting  to  know 
in  what  part  of  the  island  he  would  like  to  reside  during  the 
treaty,  and  which  of  his  councillors  he  wished  to  have  with 

him. 

The  independent  leaders  did  not  deceive  themselves ;  this 
was  a  clear  defeat.  Finding  the  crisis  approach,  and  more 
fearful  of  their  triumph  than  of  their  threats,  the  majority 
had  manifestly  passed  over  to  their  opponents.  Ludlow  di- 
rectly proceeded  to  head-quarters,  still  before  Colchester: 
"  They  are  plotting,"  he  said  to  Fairfax,  "  to  betray  the  cause 
for  which  so  much  blood  has  been  shed  ;  they  will  have  peace 
at  any  price  ;  the  king,  being  a  prisoner,  will  not  think  him- 
self bound  by  his  promises  ;  even  those  who  most  urge  nego- 
tiations care  little  about  making  him  fulfil  them  ;  to  employ 
his  name  and  authority  to  destroy  the  army  is  their  only  aim  ; 
the  army  has  achieved  power  ;  it  must  make  use  of  it  to  pre- 
vent its  own  ruin  and  that  of  the  nation."  Fairfax  admitted 
this,  protested  that,  in  case  of  need,  he  would  be  ready  to  em- 
ploy the  force  he  had  at  his  disposal  for  the  safety  of  the  pub- 
lic cause  :  "  But,"  said  he,  "  I  must  be  clearly  and  positively 
called  upon  to  do  so  ;  and  for  the  present,  I  must  prosecute 
this  wearisome  siege,  which  has  already  lasted  so  long,  de- 
spite all  our  efforts."     Ludlow  went  to  Ireton,  whom  Crom- 


*  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  957. 
t  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  986. 
35* 


X  Pari.  Hist,  iii., 964,  965. 


414 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


well  had  taken  care  to  leave  with  the  general,  and  from  whom 
he  expected  more  zeal.  "  The  moment  is  not  yet  come," 
said  Ireton  ;  *'  we  must  let  the  negotiations  go  on,  and  the 
peril  become  evident."*  The  republicans,  in  default  of  the 
army,  got  up  threatening  petitions  to  parliament,  one,  among 
the  rest,  drawn  up  by  Henry  Martyn  (Sept.  ll),t  which,  set- 
ting  forth  all  the  principles  of  the  party,  summoned  the  com- 
mons to  declare  themselves  the  sovereign  power,  and  at  length 
to  answer  the  expectations  of  the  people  by  giving  them  the 
reforms  they  had  anticipated  when  they  took  up  arms  for  the 
parliament.  The  commons  made  no  reply  ;  two  days  after, 
a  second  petition  came,  complaining  bitterly  of  such  contempt ; 
and  this  time  the  petitioners  waited  in  a  body  at  the  door,  an- 
grily crying :  "  We  know  no  use  of  a  king  or  lords  any 
longer !  these  distinctions  were  the  devices  of  men  ;  God 
made  us  all  equal  ;  there  are  many  thousands  will  spend  their 
blood  in  maintenance  of  these  principles ;  forty  thousand  of 
us  have  signed  this  petition,  but  we  hold  five  thousand  horse 
would  do  more  good  in  it."  Even  some  of  the  members, 
Scott,  Blackiston,  and  Weaver,  went  out,  mingled  familiarly 
with  the  crowd,  and  encouraged  them.  The  house  persisted 
in  its  silence  ;  but  the  firmer  it  showed  itself,  the  more  vio- 
lently did  the  party  hurry  on  towards  its  most  extreme  de- 
signs, and  five  days  after  this  scene  (Sept.  18),:^  Henry  Mar- 
tyn suddenly  departed  for  Scotland,  which  Cromwell  had  just 

entered. 

At  the  same  time  (Sept.  13),  fifteen  commissioners  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Isle  of  Wight,  five  lords  and  ten  members  of 
the  commons,^  all,  excepting  Vane,  and  perhaps  lord  Say, 
favorable  to  peace.  Never  had  negotiation  excited  such 
anxious  expectation  ;  it  was  to  last  forty  days ;  the  king  had 
eagerly  accepted  it,  giving  his  word  that  during  that  period 
and  for  twenty  days  after,  he  would  make  no  attempt  to 
escape.  Twenty  of  his  oldest  servants,  lords,  divines,  lawyers, 
had  been  permitted  to  advise  with  him  ;  he  had  even  requested 


*  Ludlow,  113. 
t  Pari.  Hist 


111. 


1005—1012  ;  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  1257. 
X  Whitelocke,  337.  ^^.^^,  , 

§  The  lords  Northumberland,  Pembroke,  Salisbury,  Middlesex  and 
Say,  Wenman ;  Messieurs  Holies,  Pierpoint,  Vane,  Grimstone,  sir  John 
Potts,  John  Carew,  Samuel  Brown,  John  Glynn,  and  John  Bulkley. 


11' 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


415 


and  obtained  that  part  of  his  household,  domestics,   pages, 
secretaries,  chamberlains,  grooms  of  the  chamber  and  so  on, 
should  be  restored  to  him  on  this  occasion.*     Accordingly 
when  the  commissioners  arrived  in  the  little  town  of  Newport 
(Sept.  15),  the  throng  was  so  great  that  three  days  passed  be- 
fore all  the  new-comers  could  procure  lodgings.     Meantime, 
the  commissioners  waited  upon  the  king  every  morning,  pro- 
foundly respectful  but  very  reserved,  and  no  one  of  them  ven- 
turing to   converse  with  him   in   private.     But  on  the  other 
hand,   most  of  them  held   familiar  communication  with  his 
councillors,  and  through  them  conveyed  to  him  their  advice, 
exhorting  him  above  all  things  to  accept  at  once  and  without 
discussion  the  proposals  of  parliament;  for,   said   they,  all 
would   be  lost  if  the  negotiation  was  not  concluded  and  the 
king   returned   to   London  before  the    army   and   Cromwell 
should   arrive  there.f     Charles  seemed  to  believe  in  the  sin- 
cerity  of  their  counsels  and  inclined  to  adopt  them  ;  but  in  his 
heart  he  nourished  a  far  different  hope :  Ormond,  who  for  the 
last  six  months  had  found  refuge  in  Paris,  was  about  to  reap- 
pear in  Ireland,  provided  with  the  money  and  ammunition 
which  the  court  of  France  had  promised  him  ;  he  was  upon 
his  arrival,  and  in  concert  with  lord  Inchiquin,  to  conclude  a 
peace  with   the   catholics,   and  enter  upon  a  vigorous  war 
against  the  parliament  ;  so  that  the  king,  who  was  then  to 
make  his  escape,  might  have  a  kingdom  and  soldiers  4  '*  This 
new  negotiation,"  he  wrote  (August)  to  sir  William  Hopkins,§ 
who  was  charged  to  arrange  his  flight,  "  will  be  derisive,  like 
the  rest ;  there  is  no  change  in  my  designs."    The  conference 
was  officially  opened  on  the  18th  of  September  ;  the  king  sat 
under  a  canopy  at  the  upper  end  of  the  hall ;  a  little  before 
him  were  the  commissioners  from  Westminster  seated  round  a 
table ;  behind  his  chair  stood  his  own  councillors,  perfectly 
silent ;  for  it  was  with  the  king  in  person  that  the  parliament 
desired  to  treat ;  any  mediator  would  have  seemed  to  lower 
its  dignity  ;  and  in  their  punctual  submission,  the  commis- 
sioners were  scarcely  prevailed  upon  to  permit  the  presence 

*  Pari.  Hist ,  iii.,  1001  ;  Journals,  Lords,  Aug.  24. 
t  Clarendon,  iii.,  31G,  &c. ;  Herbert,  Memoirs,  72. 
i  Carte,  Life  of  Ormond,  ii.,  20—38.  ^,.  i.    .  •    ^v 

&  The  king's  letters  to  sir  William  Hopkins  were  published  m  the 
third  edition  of  Wagstaff's  work,  *'  Vindication  of  the  Royal  Martyr." 


416 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


of  any  witnesses  whatever.     Charles,  accordingly,  maintained 
the  discussion  alone  ;  only,  when  he  thought  fit,  he  might  re- 
tire  into  an  adjoining  room,  to  take  the  advice  of  his  council- 
lors.*    At  the  sight  of  their  king  thus  solitary,  thus  thrown 
upon  his  own  resources,  an  inward  emotion  thrilled  the  hearts 
of  all  present.     Charles's  hair  had  turned  grey  :  an  expres- 
sion  of  habitual  sadness  had  blended  with  the  haughtiness  of 
his  glance  ;  his  deportment,  his  voice,  his  every  feature  re- 
vealed   a  proud  but    yet  subdued  soul,   alike   incapable    of 
siruo-gling  against  its  destiny,  or  of  yielding  to  it ;  a  touching 
and  lingular  mixture  of  grandeur  without  power,  of  presump- 
tion  without   hope.      The  proposals  of  parliament,   still  the 
same,  except  a  few  unimportant  modifications,  were  success- 
ively read  and  examined.     Charles  entered  with  a  good  grace 
into  the   discussion,   calm,  ready  to  answer  any  questions, 
taking  no  offence  at  objections,  and  skilfully  making  the  most 
of  the  good  points  of  his  case  ;  astonishing,  in  short,  his  most 
prejudiced  adversaries  by  the  firmness  of  his  mind,  his  gentle- 
ness, and  his  knowledge  of  the  affairs  and  laws  of  the  king- 
dom.     "  The  king,"  said  the  earl  of  Salisbury  one  day  to  sir 
Philip  Warwick,  ''  has  made  marvellous  progress."     "  No, 
my  lord,"  replied  Warwick,  *'  the  king  was  always  what  he 
is  now,  but  your  lordship  perceives  it  too  late."     Buckley,  one 
of  the  commissioners  from  the  commons,  urged  him  to  accept 
the  whole,  assuring  him  that  "  the  treaty   once   ended,  the 
devil  himself  would  not  be  able  to  break  it."     *' Sir,      said 
Charles,  "  if  you  call  this   a  treaty,  consider  whether  it  be 
not  like  the  fray  in  the  comedy  where  the  man  comes  out  and 
says,  '  There  has  been  a  fray  and  no  fray ;'  and  being  asked 
how  that  could  be,  '  why,'  says  he,  '  there  hath  been  three 
blows  given,  and  I  had  them  all.'     Look  whether  this  be  not 
a  parallel  case  :  I  have  granted,  absolutely,  most  of  your  pro- 
positions, and  with  great  moderation  limited  only  some  few  of 
them  ;  and  you  make  m.e  no  concessions. "f     He  had,  indeed, 
consented  to  the  demands  of  parliament,  as  to  the  command 
of  the  sea  and  land  forces,  the  nomination  to  the  great  offices 
of  state,  as  to  Ireland,  even  as  to  the  legitimacy  of  the  resist- 
ance which  had  brought  on  the  civil  war ;  but  instead  of  giv- 
ing  up  at  once  and  without  hesitation,  he  disputed  every  foot 

•  Herbert,  72 ;  Warwick,  323  ;  Clarendon,  ut  sup 
t  Warwick,  323. 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


417 


of  the  ground  he  could  no  longer  defend  ;  sometimes  himself 
addressing  different  proposals  to  the  house,  sometimes  seeking 
to  elude  his  own  concessions,  pertinacious  in  asserting  his 
right  at  the  very  moment  he  was  giving  it  up,  inexhaustible 
in  subtleties  and  reticences,  daily  giving  his  adversaries  some 
hew  reason  to  think  that  the  hardest  necessity  was  their  only 
kgcurity  against  him.  Moreover,  he  persisted  as  much  from 
conscientious  motives  as  with  a  view  to  the  interest  of  his 
prerogative,  in  opposing  the  abolition  of  episcopacy  and  the 
severities  which  they  desired  to  inflict  on  his  principal  sup- 
porters. Finally,  after  having  solemnly  promised  that  all 
hostilities  in  Ireland  should  cease,*  he  secretly  wrote  to  Or- 
mond  (Oct.  10)  :f  "  Obey  my  wife's  orders,  not  mine,  until  I 
shall  let  you  know  I  am  free  from  all  restraint ;  nor  trouble 
yourself  about  my  concessions  as  to  Ireland ;  they  will  not 
lead  to  anything ;"  and  the  day  on  which  he  had  consented  to 
transfer  to  parliament  for  twenty  years  the  command  of  the 
army  (Oct.  9),f  he  wrote  to  sir  William  Hopkins :  "  To  tell 
you  the  truth,  my  great  concession  this  morning  was  made 
only  with  a  view  to  facilitate  my  approaching  escape  ;  with- 
out that  hope,  I  should  never  have  yielded  in  this  manner. 
If  I  had  refused,  I  could,  without  much  sorrow,  have  returned 
to  my  prison ;  but  as  it  is,  I  own  it  would  break  my  heart, 
for  I  have  done  that  which  my  escape  alone  can  justify. "§ 

The  parliament,  though  without  any  exact  information, 
suspected  all  this  perfidy ;  even  the  friends  of  peace,  the  men 
most  affected  by  the  king's  condition,  and  most  earnest  to  save 
him,  replied  but  hesitatingly  to  the  charges  of  the  independents. 
At  the  same  time,  the  presbyterian  devotees,  though  moderate 
in  their  political  views,  were  invincible  in  their  hatred  of 
episcopacy,  and  would  admit  of  no  compromise,  no  delay,  in 
reference  to  the  triumph  of  the  covenant.  This  idea,  more- 
over, had  fixed  itself  in  men's  minds,  that  afler  so  many  evils 
brought  upon  the  country  by  war,  it  was  necessary  that  the 
conquered  party  should  legally  undergo  its  responsibility,  and 
that  to  satisfy  divine  justice,  manifested  in  the  Holy  Scriptures 
by  so  striking  examples,  the  crime  of  the  real  culprits  should 

*  Journals,  Lords,  Dec.  1. 

t  Carte,  Life  of  Ormond,  ii..  Appendix,  No.  31,  32,  p.  17. 

t  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  1048. 

§  Wagstaff^  Tmdication  of  the  Royal  Martyr,  &c.,  Appendix,  161. 


418 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


be  expiated  by  their  punish^ment    J^e jb "  of  the^^^^^^^^ 

•^'^'="r'\otLTmt  ty  wh    h  wasTbe  proclaimed  upon 
exceptions  to  the  amnesty  Y'"-        .    ,    :         only  demanded 

onrl  9d\  diirinff  their  continuation,  tne  King  »  unci 

by  the  Church  of  England  ;  X  and  tne  "ego  ct 

rebels  who  might  be  tempted  to  '^^l^renirtiF^^^^ 
the  other  prisoners,  lord  Capel  at  their  head,  enirea 

•  Lords  Newcastle  and  Digby,  sir  ^armaduke^^^^^^^ 
Greenville,  David  Jenkins,  sir  Francis  Doddington  andj^r  Jo^  ^^^y 
t  Pari.  Hist.,  111.,  1058.  ..  qai  •   Pari   Hist,  iii.,  1002— 

§  Clarendon,  State  Papers,  u.,  222—261,  fari.  xiw  , 

1129  ;  Warwick,  ut  sup. 

II  Rushworth,  ii.,  4, 1241-1249. 


ENGLISH   EEVOLUTIOIf. 


419 


to  suspend  the  execution  of  the  sentence,  or  at  least  that  they 
should  all  undergo  it,  since  all  were  alike  guilty  of  the  offence 
of  these  three.  Fairfax,  excited  by  the  long  struggle,  or  rather 
intimidated  by  Ireton,  made  no  answer,  and  the  condemned 
officers  were  ordered  to  be  shot  on  the  spot.  Sir  Charles 
Lucas  was  the  first  executed  ;  as  he  fell.  Lisle  ran  and  kissed 
him,  and  immediately  standing  up  :  "  Soldiers,"  he  exclaimed, 
"  come  nearer  ;  you  are  too  far  off."  "  Rest  assured,"  they 
replied,  "  we'll  hit  you."  "  Comrades,"  answered  Lisle, 
smiling,  "  I  have  been  nearer,  and  you  missed  me  ;"  and  he 
fell  by  the  side  of  his  friend.  Gascoign  was  taking  off  his 
coat,  when  a  reprieve  arrived  for  him  from  the  general.* 
Colchester  being  taken,  there  was  no  longer,  in  the  eastern 
counties,  any  rallying  point  for  insurrection.  In  the  north, 
Cromwell,  having  conquered  Hamilton,  entered  Scotland 
without  obstacle  (Sept.  20) ;  the  peasants  of  the  western 
counties  rose  in  a  body  at  the  first  rumor  of  his  victory  ;  and 
each  parish,  led  by  its  minister,  marched  towards  Edinburgh 
to  drive  the  royalists  thence  ;"|"  six  miles  from  Berwick,  at 
lord  Mordington's  seat,  Argyle,  who  had  come  to  meet  him, 
had  (Sept.  22)J  a  long  conference  with  him ;  both  as  clear- 
sighted as  daring,  success  did  not  blind  them  to  the  danger 
before  them  ;  the  Scottish  royalists,  powerful  notwithstanding 
their  defeat,  and  still  in  arms  in  many  places,  manifested  a 
determination  not  to  subject  themselves  unresistingly  to  a 
bloody  reaction  ;  a  treaty  forthwith  concluded  (Sept.  26 )§ 
secured  to  them  full  tranquillity  and  the  enjoyment  of  their 
property,  on  condition  of  disbanding  their  troops,  abjuring  any 
engagement  in  favor  of  the  king,  and  renewing  the  oath  "  to 
the  holy  league  which  ought  never  to  have  ceased  to  exist 
between  the  two  kingdoms."  Thus  re-established  in  the  pos- 
session of  government,  Argyle  and  his  party  received  Crom- 
well at  Edinburgh  with  great  pomp  ;  the  committee  of  the 
states,  the  municipal  body,  which  had  been  thoroughly  purged, 

*  Clarendon,  iii.,  268. 

t  This  expedition  was  called  in  Scotland  the  insurrection  of  the 
•'  whigamores,"  from  the  word  *'  whigagm,"  used  by  ihe  peasants  in 
driving  their  horses.  Thence  the  name  of  Whigs,  afterwards  given  to 
the  party  opposed  to  court,  as  the  representative  and  successor  of  the 
most  zealous  Scottish  covenanters.     Burnet,  i.,  74. 

t  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  1282. 

§  Burnet,  Memoirs  of  the  Hamiltoni,  367,  3G8  ;  Lung,  iii.,  405. 


P 


420 


HISTORY   OF  THE 


the  fanatic  ministers  and  PeoPJe- overwhelmed  him  with  daily 
visits  speeches,  sermons,  and  banquets ;    but  urged  by  the 
rrrtsXm  H;nry  Martyn,  and  leaving  with  them  Lambert 
Tnd^^wo  regiments  to  maintain  their  power,  he  retraced  wuh 
aU  swedThe  road  to  England  (Oct.  11).*     He  had  scarcely 
entered  Yorkshire,  wher?  he  seemed  solely  engaged  m  com- 
dS  the  suppression  of  the  insurrection,  than  numerous 
Sons  were  sent  from  that  county,  addressed  to  the  commons 
^Iv  denTanding  prompt  justice  upon  the  delmquents  what- 
Sthe^  "anki'iiame.     At  the  same  time,  the  same  demand 
w^s  expressed  by  other  counties,  and  always  presented  or 
rpported  by  the  friends  of  Cromwell  (Oct.  10  and  Nov.  6) 
ThTp^esbytLians  opposed  it  in  'he  name  of  the  gre^t  charter, 
and  of  the  laws  of  the  kingdom  :  "  We  have  had,  M'- Sp^«|^; 
said  Denis  Bond,  an  obscure  republican,  "many  doctrines 
^reacted"  here  by'several  gentlemen,  against  the  powe^  of Jh- 
house-    such  as  that  we  cannot   try  my  lo"^"!    ot   INorwicn 
buHv  his  peers,  because  it  is  against  Magna  Charta  ;  but  I 
trust  ere  long  to  see  the  day  when  we  may  have  power  to 
hane  the  greatest  lord  of  them  all,  if  he  deserves  it,  without 
triaf  by  hPspeers ;    and  I  doubt  not  we  shall  have  honest, 
re^lutl  judges  to  do  it,  notwithstanding  Magna  Charta    t 
Th^  house  rejected  these  petitions,  but  others  immediately 
followed   far  more  explicit  and  formidable,  for  they  came  from 
[he  regiments  of  Ireton,  IngoWsby,  Fleetwood,  Whal^,  and 
Overton  and  explicitly  demanded,  of  the  commons  that  jus  ice 
Sdb;  done  u^n  thi  king,  of  Fairfax  the  re-establishm^^^^^^^^^ 
the  general  council  of  the  army  "  the  only  remedy     they  sa  d, 
"  against  the  disasters  which  threaten  "«' ^'ther  by  "s  repie- 
senfations  to  the  house  or  by  other  means  (Of -^^.S  and  30).  ? 
The  council  accordingly  resumed  "s  sittings,  and,  on  the  20  h 
of  November,  the  speaker  informed  the  house  that  certain 
leers  w'ere  'at  the  V  with  colonel  Ewers  at  their  hea, 
.ho  were  -me  in  the  name  o    the  g<^^^^^^^^^^^ 
present  a  paper  to  them  ,  it  \vas  a  luu^  ira1\  f.  nn  the 

to  that  which,  seven  years  before  (Nov.  21,  164l),§  on  the 

•  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  1295,  1296.  Whitelocke,  346. 

tParl.  Hist,  iii..  1042;   R^^^worth,  ii.,  4,  1318    WhitelocKe^ 
X  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  1056, 1077  ;  Rushworth,  ii.,4, 1297,  IJli ,  wnu 
locke,  343,  1641. 

§  See  p.  143  of  this  work. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


421 


same  day,  and  in  order  effectually  to  break  off  with  him,  the 
commons  had  themselves  addressed  to  the  king.  Adopting 
their  example,  the  army  enumerated  in  their  petitions  all  the 
evils,  all  the  fears  of  England,  imputing  them  to  the  want  of 
energy  in  the  parliament,  to  its  neglect  of  public  interests,  to 
its  negotiations  with  the  king  ;  it  called  upon  it  to  bring  him 
solemnly  to  trial,  to  proclaim  the  sovereignty  of  the  people,  to 
decree  that  henceforward  the  king  should  be  elected  by  its 
representatives,  to  put  an  end  to  the  present  session,  but  pro- 
vide before  separating  for  the  equal  distribution  of  the  suffrage, 
for  the  regular  meeting  of  future  parliaments,  for  all  the 
reforms  desired  by  the  well-affected,  and  threatening,  finally, 
though  in  guarded  expressions,  that  the  army  itself  would  pro- 
ceed to  save  the  country,  if  it  remained  any  longer  compro- 
mised by  the  negligence  or  weakness  of  men  who,  after  all, 
were  only,  like  the  soldiers,  the  delegates  and  servants  of  their 
fellow-citizens.* 

On  hearing  this  read,  a  complete  storm  arose  in  the  house ; 
the  independents,  Scott,  Holland,  and  Wentworth,  loudly  de- 
manded that  the  army  should  forthwith  receive  the  thanks  of 
the  house  for  these  frank  and  courageous  counsels ;  the  pres- 
byterians,  some  with  indignation,  others  in  terms  flattering  to 
the  officers,  urged  the  house  to  lay  aside  the  remonstrance, 
and,  by  way  of  marking  their  displeasure,  return  no  answer 
to  it.j"  This  expedient  suited  the  timid  as  well  as  the  bold  ; 
it  was  adopted  after  two  days'  debate  (Nov.  20  and  29),  by  a 
great  majority  (125  to  53).  But  the  day  had  come  when  vic- 
tories served  only  to  hasten  the  final  defeat :  out  of  doors,  as 
well  as  within,  excitement  and  confusion  were  at  their  height ; 
already  there  was  talk  of  Cromwell's  approaching  return  ;| 
already  the  army  announced  the  design  of  marching  upon 
London. §  The  royalists,  losing  all  hope,  now  only  thought 
of  getting  rid  of,  or  avenging  themselves  on,  their  enemies,  no 
matter  by  what  means ;  several  republican  members  were  in- 
sulted and  attacked  in  the  streets  ;||  hints  reached  Fairfax, 
even  from  France,  that  two  cavaliers  had  resolved  to  assassi- 
nate him  at  St.  Albans  jIT    at  Doncaster,  a  party  of  twenty 

♦  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  1077—1128 ;  Whitelocke,  355. 

t  Mercurius  Pragmaticus,  No.  35.  t  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  132a 

§  Whitelocke,  358 ;  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  1137—1141. 

II  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  i.,  279.  ^  lb.,  1280. 


fi. 


w 


36 


Hi 


I  I' 


422 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


423 


v 


men  carried  off  Rainsborough,  who  commanded  there,  and 
three  of  them  poniarded  him  at  the  moment  he  was  endeavor- 
inff  to  escape  from  them  (Oct.  29);*  there  was  even  a  report 
ihlt  a  plot  was  forming  to  murder  eighty  of  the  most  influen- 
tial members  as  they  left  the  house-f  At  last,  amidst  this  an- 
archical  fury,  the  news  came,  one  upon  the  other,  that  m  two 
days  (Dec.  2)  Cromwell  would  be  at  head-quarters ;  that  in 
the  Isle  of  Wight,  the  governor,  Hammond,  suspected  of  too 
great  consideration  for  the  king  and  the  parliament,  had  re- 
ceived  orders  from  Fairfax  (Nov.  25)  to  resign  his  post,  to  re- 
turn  to  the  army,  and  transfer  the  charge  of  the  king  to  colonel 
Ewers  ;±  that  on  hearing  this,  Charles,  seized  with  fear,  had 
extended  his  concessions,  closed  the  conferences  at  Newport, 
and  that,  on  the  same  day  (Nov.  28),  the  commissioners  had 
set  off  with  his  definitive  offers  to  parliament. 

They  arrived  the  next  day,  most  of  them  deeply  affected  by 
the  peril  in  which  they  had  left  the  king,  and  by  his  last  fare- 
well :  "  My  lords,"  he  said  to  them,  "  you  come  to  take  leave 
of  me,  and  I  can  scarcely  believe  we  shall  ever  meet  again  ; 
but  the  will  of  God  be  done !  I  give  him  thanks,  I  have  made 
my  peace  with  him,  and  I  shall  without  fear  suffer  all  it  shall 
please  men  to  do  unto  me.     My  lords,  you  cannot  be  ignorant 
that  in  my  ruin  you  may  already  perceive  your  own,  and  that 
near  at  hand.     I  pray  God  that  he  may  send  you  better  friends 
than  I  have  found.     I  am  not  ignorant  of  the  plot  contrived 
against  me  and  mine ;  but  nothing  affects  me  so  much  as  the 
spectacle  of  the  sufferings  of  my  people  and  the  presentiment 
of  the  evils  prepared  for  them  by  men  who,  always  talking  of 
the  public  good,  only  seek  to  gratify  their  own  ambition. "§ 
As  soon  as  the  commissioners  had  made  their  report  (Dec.  1), 
though  the  king's  new  concessions  differed  but  little  from  those 
they  had  so  many  times  rejected,  the  presbyterians  proposed 
to  the  commons  to  declare  them  satisfactory  and  fit  to  serve  as 
the  basis  of  peace.     The  motion  was  even  supported  by  Na- 
thaniel  Fiennes,  son  of  lord  Say,  and  lately  one  of  the  most 
violent  of  the  independent  leaders.     The  debate  had  already 
lasted  several  hours,  when  information  was  received  of  a  letter 

•  Clarendon,  iii.,  287  ;  Whitelocke,  341 ;  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  1315. 
t  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  1270.  X  Pari.  Hist.,  in.,  1133—1137. 

§  The  Works  of  King  Charles  the  Martyr,  London,  1662.  424. 


from  Fairfax  to  the  common  council,  in  which  he  announced 
that  the  army  was  marching  upon  London  :  "  Question !  ques- 
tion !"  immediately  shouted  the  independents,  eager  to  make 
the  most  of  this  alarm.     But,  contrary  to  their  expectations, 
and  notwithstanding  all  their  efforts,  the  debate  was  adjourned 
till  the  next  day.*     It  was  then  resumed  more  fiercely  than 
ever,  amid  the  movement  of  the  troops  who  were  pouring  in 
on  all  sides,  and  taking  up  their  quarters  at  St.  James's,  at 
York  House,  throughout  Westminster  and  the  city.     The  in- 
dependents still  looked  to  fear  to  give  them  the  victory :   "  By 
this  debate,"  said  Vane,  "  we  shall  soon  guess  who  are  our 
friends  and  who  our  enemies ;  or,  to  speak  more  plainly,  we 
shall  understand  by  the  carriage  of  this  business,  who  are  the 
king's  party  in  the  house,  and  who  for  the  people."     "  Mr. 
Speaker,"  quickly  followed  another  member  whose  name  is 
not  known,  "  since  this  gentleman  has  had  the  presumption  to 
divide  this  house  into  two  parts,  I  hope  it  is  as  lawful  for  me 
to  take  the  same  liberty,  and  likewise  to  divide  the  house  into 
two  parts  upon  this  debate.     Mr.  Speaker,  you  will  find  some 
that  are  desirous  of  a  peace  and  settlement,  and  those  are  such 
as  have  lost  by  the  war ;  others  you  will  find  that  are  against 
peace,  and  these  are  such  as  have  gained  by  the  war.     My 
humble  motion,  therefore,  is  this,  that  the  gainers  may  con- 
tribute to  the  losers,  that  we  may  all  be  brought  to  an  equal 
degree ;  for  till  then  the  balance  of  the  commonwealth  will 
never  stand  right  toward  a  settlement."     The  independents 
opposed  this,  but  with  some  embarrassment,  for  in  both  parties 
personal  interest  exercised  a  power  which  they  themselves 
scarcely  ventured  to  deny.     Rudyard,  Stephens,  Grimstone, 
Walker,  Prideaux,  Wroth,  Scott,  Corbet,  and  many  others, 
successively  supported  and  opposed  the  motion  without  the 
debate  appearing  to  draw  to  a  conclusion.      Day  declined ; 
several  members  had  already  retired  ;  one  of  the  independents 
proposed  to  call  for  lights :  "  Mr.  Speaker,"  said  a  presby- 
terian,  "  I  perceive  very  well  that  the  drift  of  some  gentlemen 
is  to  take  advantage  not  only  of  the  terror  now  brought  on  us 
by  the  present  approach  of  the  army,  but  also  to  spin  out  the 
debate  of  this  business  to  an  unseasonable  time  of  night,  by 
which  means  the  more  ancient  members  of  the  house  (whom 

•  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  1142—1145. 


424 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


425 


ili 


they  look  upon  as  most  inclined  to  peace)  will  be  tired  out  and 
forced  to  depart  before  we  can  come  to  a  resolution;  and 
therefore  I  hope  the  house  will  not  agree  to  this  last  proposal ;'' 
and,  notwithstanding  the  clamors  of  the  independents,  the  de- 
bate  was  again  adjourned.* 

Two  days  after,f  when  they  met,  a  dark  rumor  agitated  the 
house ;  the  king,  it  was  said  on  all  sides,  had  been  carried 
away  from  the  Isle  of  Wight  in  the  night,  despite  his  resist- 
ance,  and  taken  to  Hurst  Castle,  a  sort  of  prison,  standing  on 
the  coast  opposite  the  island,  at  the  extremity  of  a  barren, 
deserted,  and  unhealthy  promontory.  Vehemently  called 
upon  for  an  explanation,  the  independent  leaders  remained 
silent ;  but  the  speaker  read  letters  from  Newport  addressed 
to  the  house  by  major  Ralph,  who  commanded  in  the  absence 
of  Hammond.  The  rumor  was  well  founded,  and  all  com- 
munication  between  the  king  and  the  parliament  henceforward 
impossible,  except  with  the  consent  of  the  army.J 

On  the  29th  of  November,  towards  evening,  a  few  hours 
after  the  conference  at  Newport  was  over,  and  the  commis- 
sioners departed,  a  man  in  disguise  said  to  one  of  the  king's 
people:    "Troops  have  just  landed  in  the  island;    tell  the 
king  he  will  be  carried  away  to-night.''     Charles  immediately 
sent  for  the  duke  of  Richmond,  and  the  earl  of  Lindsey,  and 
colonel  Edward  Cook,  an  officer  who  possessed  his  confidence, 
and  asked  how  they  could  ascertain  whether  the  report  was 
true.     It  was  useless  to  question  major  Ralph :  nothing  but 
short,  vague  answers  were  to  be  got  from  him :  "  The  king 
may  sleep  quietly  to-night ;  upon  my  life,  no  one  will  disturb 
him  to-night."     Cook  offered  to  mount  his  horse,  ride  round 
the  coast,  and  in  particular  go  to  Carisbrook,  where  it  was 
going  on.     The  night  was  dark,  it  rained  heavily,  the  service 
was  a  dangerous  one;  the  king  hesitated  to  accept  it,  but 
Cook  insisted,  and  went  off.     He  found  the  garrison  of  Cans- 
brook  reinforced ;  there  were  ten  or  twelve  fresh  officers,  by 
whom  captain  Bowerman,  who  commanded  there,  was  almost 
openly  watched  ;  there  was  altogether  an  air  of  mysterious 
agitation.     He  returned  in  all  hasce  to  bring  the  king  this 

o 

•  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  1145—1147  ;  Ludlow,  117.  ,,    .  ^  .  Ko. 

t  December  4th  ;  the  debate  had  been  adjourned  till  that  day,  De- 
cause  the  3d  was  a  Sunday. 
X  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  1147,  1148. 


information,  when,  on  reaching  Newport,  towards  midnight, 
he  found  the  house  the  king  occupied  surrounded  with  guards ; 
there  were  some  under  every  window,  even  inside  the  house, 
at  the  very  door  of  the  king's  chamber,  into  which  the  smoke 
of  their  pipes  penetrated.  There  was  now  no  room  for 
doubt ;  the  two  lords  conjured  the  king  to  attempt  an  escape 
that  very  hour,  at  all  risks.  This  counsel  was  not  agreeable 
to  the  timid  sedateness  of  Charles ;  he  alleged  the  difficulty, 
the  irritation  it  would  cause  in  the  army  :  "  If  they  do  take 
me,"  said  he,  "  they  must  preserve  me  for  their  own  sakes,  for 
neither  party  can  secure  its  own  interests  without  joining 
mine  with  them."  "Take  heed,  sir,"  said  Lindsey,  "lest 
your  majesty  fall  into  such  hands  as  will  not  steer  by  such 
rules  of  policy.  Remember  Hampton  Court."  "Colonel," 
said  Richmond  to  Cook,  "  how  did  you  pass  ?"  Cook :  "  I 
have  the  word."  Richmond  :  "  Could  you  enable  me  to  pass, 
too?"  Cook  :  "  1  have  no  doubt  of  it."  Richmond  put  on  a 
trooper's  cloak  ;  they  went  out,  passed  through  all  the  stations, 
and  returned  without  any  interruption.  Standing  with  the 
king  near  a  window,  the  two  lords  passionately  renewed  their 
entreaties ;  the  colonel,  drenched  with  rain,  stood  alone  before 
the  fire :  "  Ned  Cook,"  said  the  king,  suddenly  turning  to- 
wards him,  "  what  do  you  advise  in  this  case  ?"  Cook  hesi- 
tated to  answer :  "  Your  majesty,"  he  said,  "  has  here  your 
privy  councillors."  "  Ned,  I  command  you  to  give  me  your 
advice."  Cook  :  "  Well,  then,  will  your  majesty  allow  me  to 
address  you  a  question?"  The  king:  "Speak."  Cook: 
"  Suppose  I  should  not  only  tell  your  majesty,  but  prove  to 
you  that  the  army  intend  forthwith  to  seize  your  person ;  if 
I  add,  that  I  have  the  word,  horses  ready  at  hand,  a  vessel 
attending  me,  hourly  expecting  me,  that  I  am  ready  and 
desirous  to  attend  you,  that  this  dark  night  seems  made  on 
purpose,  that  I  see  no  difficulty  in  the  thing,  what  would  your 
majesty  do  ?"  Charles  remained  silent  for  a  moment ;  then, 
shaking  his  head,  he  said :  "  No,  they  promised  me  and  I 
promised  them  ;  I  will  not  break  first."  Cook :  "  But,  sir,  I 
presume  that  by  *  they'  and  '  them'  your  majesty  means  the 
parliament ;  if  so,  the  scene  is  changed  ;  it  is  the  army  who 
Want  to  throw  your  majesty  into  prison."  The  king :  "  No 
matter ;  I  will  not  break  my  word :  good  night,  Ned ;  good 
night,  Lindsey ;  I  am  going  to  rest  as  long  as  I  can."     Cook  : 

36* 


^■' 


I 


* 


111 


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426 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH   EEVOLDTION. 


427 


« I  fear  it  will  not  be  long."  The  king :  "As  it  ple^se  God." 
It  was  one  o'clock  ;  they  withdrew,  and  Charles  went  to  bed, 
Richmond  alone  remained  with  him. 

At  break  of  day  there  was  a  knocking  at  the  door  >  "'"o 
arevou'  what  do  you  want?"  asked  Richmond  "Officers 
of  the  army,  who  want  to  speak  with  the  king."  Richmond 
did  not  open  the  door,  waiting  for  the  king  *«  be  d-ssed  ^tho 
knocks  were  repeated,  and  with  violence :  Open  the  door 
SaTd  Chlrles  to^he  duke;  and  'jefo'-f  ^e  was  out  of  be  , 
several  officers,  with  lieutenant-colonel  Cobbett  at  their  head, 
Tushed  into  the'  room.     "  Sir,"  said  Cobbett,  "  we  hav^  orders 

„  "    ThoHntT- "Orders,  Iron)  whom  f      Cobbett: 
tn  remove  vou.       ineKmg.     wiucir>,  nv^"* 

I'prom  the^rmy.''    The  king :  ''  Whither  am  I  to  be  removed  ? 
Cobbett  •  "  To  the  castle."    The  king :  "  What  castle  ?      Cob- 
bett   "  To  the  castle."     The  king :  '^  The  castle  is  no  cas^^^^^^^ 
I  am  ready  to  follow  you  to  any  castle,  but  name  it.       Cobb 
consulted  his  companions,  and  at  last  answered    ^  To  Hurst 
castle."     The   king   turned   towards   Richmond    and   said, 
''They  could  not  name  a  worse  ;"  and  then  addressing  Cob. 
bett,  he  said :  "  Can  1  have  none  of  my  servants  with  me  ^ 
Cobbett:    -Only   those    absolutely  ^ndispensable        Chades 
named  his  two  valets-de-chambre,  Harrington  and  Herbert, 
anrMildmay  his  esquire-carver.     Richmond  went  out  to  order 
breakfa^rbut  befor^  it  was  ready  the  horses  were  brought  u, 
u  Sir,"  said  Cobbett,  "we  must  go."     The  king  got  into  t^^ 
carriage  without  uttering  a  word,  Harrington    Herbert,  and 
Mildmav  with  him ;    Cobbett  came   forward  to  get  in,  but 
Charrs'^arred  the  way  with  his  foot,  and  had  the  door  mu^^^ 
diately  closed.     They  drove  off  under  ^he  escort  of  a  deta  h. 
ment  of  cavalry ;  a  little  vessel  was  waiting  at  Yarmouth , 
The  king  embaTkk  in  it,  and,  three  hours  after,  was  sh^it  u^^^^^ 
Hurst  castle,  having  no  communication  from  ^^^hout,  in  a  room 
so  dark  that  at  mid-day  flambeaux  were  necessary   and  undo 
the  guard  of  colonel  Ewer,  a  far  rougher  and  more  dangerous 
iailer  than  Cobbett  had  been.*  «^„rcp  to 

^  At  this  intelligence  the  presbyterians  gav^  free  course  o 
their  indignationi  "The  house,"  they  cried,  ". g^^^^"^^^^^^^^ 
king  during  his  stay  at  Newport,  respect,  security,  and  liberty , 
they  are  dishonored,  undone,  if  they  do  not  give  marked  resist- 
*  Colonel  Cook's  narrative  in  Rushworth,  iio. 4,  1344-1348  •  He^ 
b«rt.  83 ;  Pari.  Hist.,  1149—1151 ;  Clarendon,  in..  359. 


ance  to  this  insolent  rebellion."  They  voted  accordingly  that 
the  Jcing  had  been  taken  away  without  the  knowledge  or  con- 
sent of  the  house ;  and  the  debate  relative  to  peace  was  re- 
sumed with  redoubled  earnestness.  It  had  already  lasted 
more  than  twelve  hours ;  the  night  was  far  advanced ;  though 
the  assembly  was  still  numerous,  fatigue  began  to  surmount 
the  zeal  of  the  more  feeble  and  aged ;  a  man  rose,  famous  among 
the  martyrs  of  public  liberty,  but  who  had  only  sat  in  the  house 
three  weeks — the  same  Prynne,  who,  twelve  years  before,  had 
sustained  so  hard  a  struggle  against  the  tyranny  of  Laud  and 
of  the  court :  "  Mr.  Speaker,"  said  he,  "first,  I  would  remove 
two  seeming  prejudices,  which  else  may  enervate  the  strength 
of  what  I  am  about  to  say :  some  members,  firstly,  have 
aspersed  me,  that  I  am  a  Royal  Favourite,  alluding  to  the  title 
of  one  of  my  works.  All  the  royal  favor  I  ever  yet  received 
from  his  majesty  or  his  party,  was  the  cutting  off  of  my  ears, 
at  two  several  times,  one  after  another,  in  a  most  barbarous 
manner  ;  the  setting  me  upon  three  several  pillories  in  a  dis- 
graceful manner,  for  two  hours  at  a  time  ;  the  burning  of  my 
licensed  books  before  my  face  by  the  hand  of  the  hangman ; 
the  imposing  of  two  fines  upon  me  of  5000/.  a-piece  ;  exclusion 
from  the  house,  and  court,  and  university  of  Oxford ;  the  loss 
of  my  calling,  almost  nine  years'  space ;  above  eight  years 
imprisonment,  without  pens,  ink,  paper,  or  books,  except  my 
Bible,  and  without  access  of  friends,  or  any  allowance  of  diet 
for  my  support.  If  any  member  envy  me  for  such  royal 
favors,  I  only  wish  him  the  same  badges  of  favor,  and  then  he 
will  no  more  causelessly  asperse  me  for  a  Royal  Favorite,  or 
apostate  from  the  public  cause."  He  spoke  for  several  hours 
after  this,  minutely  discussing  all  the  king's  proposals,  all  the 
pretensions  of  the  army ;  considering  in  turn  in  their  different 
aspects,  the  state  of  parliament  and  of  the  country,  grave  with- 
out pedantry,  earnest  without  anger,  evidently  elevated  by  the 
energy  and  disinterestedness  of  his  conscience  above  the 
passions  of  his  sect,  the  faults  of  his  own  character,  and  the 
usual  extent  of  his  own  talent.  "  Mr.  Speaker,"  he  said,  be- 
fore he  concluded,  "  they  further  object  that,  if  we  discontent 
the  army,  we  are  undone ;  they  will  all  lay  down  their  arms, 
as  one  commander  of  eminence  hath  here  openly  told  you  he 
must  do,  and  serve  us  no  longer ;  and  then,  what  will  become 
of  us  and  all  our  faithful  friends  ?     If  the  army  do  so,  I  shall 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


428 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


429 


u       1..^  fhp  nrotection  of  such  inconstant,  mutinous, 
not  much  value  the  proteciioii  u 

and  unreasonable  ^■•^,*"  ^^^^^^^ff  "a.!d"he  whoJkingdom 
us  on  so  slight  a  ground  (.od  ^^^^^l  ^j^^n  happily  con- 
will  stand  by  us  ;  and  '^  *«  ^f Tg  i  „eed  of  their 

elude  this  ^r^-'y'i^XeT^1L\m,  Z^clum  ;  let  us  do 

future  service.     However,  jmi  ^ 

our  duty,  and  leave  *«  '«^"e  ^o  O'^-  J^^e  ho^^    .^^     .^  ^^^^ 

to  this  speech  with  ^"«n.''°":  7''%?' ^^  jiad  sat  twenty-four 
r  °''^  tte"  wrre^'irp^e  nt  ""Z  h'u'ndred  and  W 
t^TLSjZ;.  %th  went  -  division^^^^^^^^^ 

rd^nt^ur,^UthernS  Sywl^  an  adequate  has. 

of  peace.*  _  tViP  indenendents  ;  they  had  ex- 

Power  ^a%«^'=^P'J.f^3"^„ibers  who  could  be  influenced 

hausted  even  fear  ;  all  *''^f^"^*''"?^'' ^[j  did  Ludlow,  Hutch- 

^'  ''  ''^^t  fewThc"  Tolr  o  Ihl  the  house  into  con- 

their  wish  was  rejected  '^  ^^""'^^  *°  ^"^^„  they  desired.f 
house,  and  no  notice  taken  o  «  m  *«  ^^y^^^  l^^,^^,  J 
After  the  rising  of  *e  house,  trie  v  ^ 

sembled;  a  great  number  f  ?*<=^/jf^  "  .ii  ^^  imminent; 
from  head-quarters   joined  them     the  pe  ^^  ^^^^^^  ^^,.  ^ 

't'  h^resi't  it     sinTrc  fScs  or  ambitious  free-thinkers, 

bo'rnstr'nVo  larno  custom  had  .any  longer^ -P^-- 

in  their  eyes;  with  '^^^:^2lCZTJ:^Z%lelSy- 

were  charged   to  take  immeuiaiu        y  commons 

Thev  passed  several  hours  together,  a  list  oi  the  comrn 

sending  orders  to  their  confidants.     -Next  aay,  iii«     ^.T.„ton 
cembe?,  at  seven  in  the  -^rning  under  the  direc^^^^^^^^^^ 
and  before  Fairfax  knew  anything  of  the  matter,  the  tr    p 
were  in  motion.      With  Skippon's  consent,  the  parties 

•  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  1151-1240.        t  Ludlow,  117  ;  Hutchinson,  301. 


militia,  who  guarded  Parliament,  had  been  withdrawn ;  two 
regiments,  that  of  colonel  Pride,  infantry,  and  that  of  colonel 
Rich,  cavalry,  occupied  Palace  Yard,  Westminster  hall,  the 
stairs,  vestibule,  and  every  access  to  the  house  ;  at  the  door 
of  the  commons  stood  Pride,  with  the  list  of  proscribed  mem- 
bers in  his  hand,  and  near  him  lord  Grey  of  Groby  and  an 
usher,  who  pointed  them  out  to  him  as  they  arrived  :  "  You 
must  not  go  in,"  said  Pride  to  each  ;   and  he  had  had  some  of 
the  most  suspected  seized  and  taken  away.     A  violent  tumult 
soon  arose  all  round  the  house ;  the  excluded  members  tried 
every  access,  asserted  their  rights,  and  called  upon  the  soldiers 
to  vindicate  them ;  the  soldiers  laughed  and  jeered.     Some, 
Prynne  amongst  others,  resisted  strenuously  ;  "  I  will  not  stir 
of  my  own  accord,"  said  he  ;  and  some  officers  pushed  him 
insultingly  down  the  stairs,  delighted  to  make  use  of  their 
party's  power  for  the  purposes  of  individual  tyranny.    Forty- 
one  members  were  arrested  in  this  manner,  and  shut  up  for 
the  time  in  two  adjoining  rooms  ;  many  others  were  excluded 
without   being   arrested.     Two  only,  of  those  comprised  in 
Pride's  list,  Stephens  and  colonel  Birch,  had  succeeded   in 
getting  into  the  house ;  they  were  drawn  to  the  door  under 
some  pretext  and  immediately  seized  by  the  soldiers.     «  Mr. 
Speaker,"  cried  Birch,  endeavoring  to   force  his  way  back 
into  the  house,  "  will  the  house  suffer  their  members  to  be 
pulled  out  thus  violently  before  their  faces,  and  yet  sit  still  ?" 
The  house  sent  their  sergeant-at-arms  to  order  the  members 
who  were  outside  to  come  and  take  their  seats  ;  Pride  would 
not  allow  them  to  go  ;  the  sergeant  was  sent  a  second  time, 
but  could  not  get  to  them.     The   house  resolved  that  they 
would  not  proceed  to  business  until  their  members  were  ad- 
mitted, and  appinted  a  committee  to  go  to  the  general  and 
demand  their  release.     The  committee  had  scarcely  gone, 
when  a  message  arrived  from  the  army,  presented  by  lieu- 
tenant-colonel Axtell,  and  some  officers ;  they  demanded  the 
official  exclusion  of  the   arrested  members,   and  of  all  those 
who  had  voted  for  peace.     The  house  returned  no  answer, 
waiting  the  result  of  the  proceedings  of  their  committee.    The 
committee  brought  back  word  that  the  general  in  his  turn 
refused  to  reply,  until  the  house  had  come  to  some  decision  on 
{^^/"essage  of  the  army.     Meantime,  the  excluded  members 
had  been  taken  away  from  Westminster,  and  led  from  one 


430 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


431 


quarter  of  London  to  a-ther  from  tave- ^^  taven.,^sor„^. 
times  crowded  into  coaches  sometimes  hur  J      ^^^.^ 

through  the  -ud^XrHufh  Klchaplain  to  f  rfax, 
:rr.leX'-t  on  4Hhy  the  genera  so^^^^^^^  I 
take  down  their  names;  <=alled  u^-njy  ^^\^,  right  of  the 
say  by  what  right  they  were  a.res^ed^^  ^By  ^  ^^  ^g_^^  . 

sword,"  said  he.  ^  *'«'y  f "' '°  ^ .  »  iVe  something  else  to 
"  I  have  no  time."  was  the  answer      Ji  Whitehall, 

do."     Fairfax  and  his  conned,  who  were  sittm  ^^^ 

at  last  promised  ^em  an  audience  they  ^^^^  ^^^  ^^ ,  ^^ 
after  waiting  several  ^ou'-s,  three  om  ^  not  receive 

nounced  that  ^e  f  ^-1  ^^ -^^^^^^^^^  „\«der  this  contempt ; 
them.     Some  embarrassment  >  ^^^  ^^^j^^ 

it  was  clear  that  the  ^''"[''"'^"'P^^yiS  pertinacity  should 
view  with  these  men,  lest  their  'nvn^p         ^j        ^^ 

necessitate  too  '^"'=J' .^/'f  the  conquerors  still  retained  in 
their  designs  and  of  their  acts,  the  conq  themselves,  a 

,  the  bottom  of  their  hearts,  ^!*out  suspecting  it 

secret  respect  for  ancient  -"^  1«|.^\^^^^^^^^^ 
^  proscription  list,  they  had  confin^^^^^^^^  ^^^^  ^ 

!  of  ^hat  they  deemed  the  nece^ity  ^^^^^  ^^  ^^^^^^ 

qualified  P""fi'=at'°"  °irwira^xiety  the  house  obstinately 
their  triumph.     1  hey  saw  w""  j^  rgaries  sti  1  retaining 

claiming  their  members,  and  their  advej^"«  g^^  i,^,;,,,;^,, 
a  powerful  party,  perhaps  even  th«  "^ajoruy.     b 
was  impossible:  *ey  resolved  to  beg^naga^^n^JNe^^^  ^y^^^^^ 

7th)  the  troops  once  ^^^^^^^^/f^^fX  more  members  were  ex- 
the  same  scene  was  renewed  ,  tony  ^^^^^^ 

eluded;  several  others  ^"^J^^  »"X^d"    t^t  this  time  the 

They  wrote  to  the  house  to  be  rele^a 

defelt  of  the  Presbytenans  was  corripleted     ms^e^  ot^^^^^^^^ 

i„g  them  favorably,  the  hou^  't^^t^'oTll  army  into  con- 
eight,  a  motion  for  ^f'^ll^^X^f^f  their  own  accord,  pro- 

sideration.     This  ™"°"'y/^  '„„  t  the  house  until  justice 
testing  that  they  would  no  return  to  tn  ^^ 


found  themselves,  at  Westminster,  as  well   as  elsewhere,  in 
full  possession  of  power.* 

Thenceforward  everything  gave  way  before  them ;  there 
was  no  resistance  ;  not  a  single  opposing  voice  disturbed  the 
party  in  the  intoxication  of  their  victory ;  they  alone  spoke, 
they  alone  acted  in  the  kingdom,  and  might  anticipate  the 
universal  submission  or  consent  of  the  country.     The  enthu- 
siasm of  the  fanatics  was  at  its  height — "  Like  Moses,"  said 
Hugh  Peters  to  the  generals,  in  a  sermon  before  the  remnant 
of  the  two  houses — "  like  Moses,  you  are  destined  to  take  the 
people  out  of  the  bondage  of  Egypt :  how  will   this  be  ac- 
complished ?  that  is  what  has  not  yet  been  revealed."     He 
put  his  hands  before  his  eyes,  laid   his   head  on  the  cushion, 
and,  rising  thence  suddenly,  exclaimed  :  "  Now  I  have  it,  by 
revelation  !     Now  I  shall  tell  you !     This  army  must  root  up 
monarchy,  not  only  here,  but  in  France,  and  other  kingdoms 
round  about ;  this  is  to  bring  you  out  of  Egypt.     This  army 
is  that  corner-stone,   cut  out  of  the   mountain,  which  must 
dash  the  powers  of  the   earth  to  pieces.     'Tis  objected,  the 
way  we  walk  in  is  without  precedent :  what  think  you  of  the 
Virgin  Mary  ?  was  there  ever  any  precedent  before  that  a 
woman  should  conceive  without  holding  the  company  of  man  ? 
This  is  an   age  to  make    examples    and    precedents  in;"-)- 
and  the  mob  of  the   party  gave  way  with  transport  to  this 
mystical  pride.     Amidst  all  this  exultation,  on  the  very  day 
when  the  last  of  the  presbyterians  retired  from  the  commons 
(Dec.  7),  Cromwell  came  and  resumed  his  seat :  "  God  is  my 
witness,"  he  repeated  everywhere,  "  that  I  know  nothing  of 
what  has  been  doing  in  this  house,  but  the  work  is  in  hand,  I 
am  glad  of  it,  and  now  we  must  carry  it  through. "if     The 
house  received  him  with  the  most  marked  demonstrations  of 
gratitude.     The  speaker  addressed  to  him  official  thanks  for 
Ins  campaign  in  Scotland ;  and  on  leaving  the  house,  he  took 
up  his  lodgings  at  Whitehall,  in  the  king's  own  apartments.^ 
Next  day,  the  army  took  possession  of  the  cash-chests  of  the 
various  committees,  being   forced,  they  said,  to  provide   for 


/ 


•Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  1240—1249;  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  1353—1356;  Lud- 
low, 118;  Hutchinson,  301;  Walker,  History  of  Independency,  ii., 
*y,  <scc, 

t  Walker,  ii.,  50;  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  1252. 
§  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  1246 :  Whitelocke,  357. 


t  Ludlow,  117. 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


433 


\fl 


lit 


11  ' 


432 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


their  own  wants,  in  order  -  '^^l )\ty*'senTto  Fdrfi 

''^Tl*  Je'r^'Xf  4Smei!^;f  S  People,"  a  pla^ 
under  the  title  ot      A  "^'*' _f;s  .    j       y  ^y  Iretou, 

of  a  -P"Wi-n  government,  drawn  up,  n^^^  ^^  ,^y  ^^^^^^^^ 

*'"';;rof  officer"  who  wouU  afterwards  present  it  to  parlia- 
council  ot  omcers,  wuu  t«lcin<T  the  trouble  ol  asking 

n>ent.t     Meantime  and  -^  houU^kmg  he  to  ^^^ 

the  consent  of  the  lords,  the  commons  rep 
all  the  votes  lately  adopted  m  ^^^^  "f  f^^f ;jXion  (Dec.  12 
have  ^aced  obstajes  m^^^^^ 

SnelU  t:id!  w^s^  fi'lt— nttas^^'Stt; 
^uaS^Vuht^erto^^itrtn  fro.  Hurst    castle   to 

^On'^he    17th    in  the  middle  of  the    night,  Charles  was 

On  the    lan,   m   uic  j^^^.Kriflcrp  being  lowered,  and 

awakened  by  the  noise  of  *«  drawbridge  bein  _,  ^^^^^ 

of  a  troop  of  horse  entering  J^^^f -y^^^^,„,ii,,  .  before  day- 
K\e-rgrA;rb^3^.ept^i^^ 

LScrw^^agT-wM^^^^^ 

not,  without  your  majesty  s  -de-'  S  „-  /^l^a^  ^the  mat- 
r"'X'iU"we°nt  'and  s^n  Tetu  Jng,  said  major  Harn 
^n  had"a7rived.     A  sudden  agUatbn  appe-^^^^^^        ^^ 
countenance  ;  «  Are  you  sure,    he  said      it  ^  ms^  _^ 
con  ?"     Herbert :    "  Captain  Reynolds  told    me  so. 
f^         "  Then  I  believe  it ;  but  did  you  see  the  major  ?     He  • 
king:  "  Then  1  pelieve II  <. d;^  Reynolds  tell  you  what 

bert:  "No,  sir.        rh%H"°  Herbert  •  "I  did  all  I  could  to 
the  major's  business  is  1       nei^hert .      i 
learn,  but  the  only  answer  I  could  get  ^^^'  t"?"  »^        h„. 
of  hi;  coming  would  soon  be  known.        fhe  kmg  sent 

r  dTe'  kin?L"  I'Sf'^-^^^  "-"i^      "  ""! 
Xyou%''KcSL^<Bec^^^^^^ 

jest'yL  much  troube^  and  co^^^^^^^^^^^  ,,,  , 

Z  t::f  Ur?nt?n£  to  a^ssmate  ^e,  as  by  letter  I  was 


informed,  during  the  late  treaty.  To  my  knowledge  I  never 
saw  the  major,  or  did  him  an  injury.  I  would  not  be  taken 
by  surprise  ;  this  is  a  place  fit  for  such  a  purpose.  Herbert, 
I  trust  to  your  care  ;  go  again  and  make  further  inquiry  into 
his  business."  Herbert,  this  time  more  fortunate,  learnt  that 
the  major  was  come  to  take  the  king  to  Windsor,  in  three 
days  at  latest ;  and  he  hastened  to  inform  Charles  of  it. 
"  Well  and  good,"  he  answered,  his  eyes  brightening  with 
joy  ;  "  what,  do  they  at  last  become  less  obdurate  ?  Windsor 
is  a  place  I  ever  delighted  in  ;  it  will  make  amends  for  what 
I  have  suffered  here." 

Two  days  after,  in  fact,  lieutenant-colonel  Cobbett  came  to 
tell  the  king  that  he  had  orders  to  take  him  immediately  to 
Windsor,  whither  Harrison  had  already  returned.  Charles, 
far  from  objecting,  hastened  the  departure  himself.  Three 
miles  from  Hurst  he  found  a  body  of  horse,  charged  to  escort 
him  to  Winchester.  Everywhere  on  his  road  a  crowd  of  gen- 
tlemen, citizens,  peasants,  came  round  him  ;  some  of  them, 
mere  sight-seekers,  who  retired  after  they  had  seen  him  pass, 
without  any  particular  observation ;  others  deeply  interested 
and  praying  aloud  for  his  liberty.  As  he  approached  Win- 
chester, the  mayor  and  aldermen  came  to  meet  him,  and  pre- 
senting him,  according  to  custom,  the  mace  and  keys  of  the 
city,  addressed  to  him  a  speech  full  of  affection.  But  Cob- 
bett, rudely  pushing  his  way  towards  them,  asked  if  they  had 
forgotten  that  the  house  had  declared  all  who  should  address 
the  king  traitors  ;  whereupon,  seized  with  terror,  the  func- 
tionaries poured  forth  humble  excuses,  protesting  they  were 
ignorant  of  the  will  of  the  house,  and  conjuring  Cobbett  to 
obtain  their  pardon.  The  next  day  the  king  resumed  his 
journey.  Between  Alresford  and  Farnham  another  corps  of 
cavalry  was  drawn  up,  waiting  to  relieve  the  party  which  had 
escorted  him  thus  far  ;  the  officer  in  command  was  good-look- 
ing, richly  equipped,  wearing  a  velvet  Monte ro  cap,  a  new 
buff  coat,  and  a  fringed  scarf  of  crimson  silk.  Charles, 
struck  with  his  countenance,  passed  slowly  by  him,  and  re- 
ceived a  respectful  military  salute.  Rejoining  Herbert : 
"  Who,"  asked  the  king,  "  is  that  officer  ?"  "  Major  Harri- 
son, sir."  The  king  immediately  turned  round,  and  looked  at 
him  so  long  and  so  attentively  that  the  major,  confused,  re- 
tired behind  the  troops  to  avoid  his  scrutiny.     "  That  man," 

37 


434 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


435 


1* 

'.A 


H 


said  Charles,  « looks  like  a  true  soldier ;  I  have  f^me  judg- 
ment  on  faces,  and  feel  I  have  harbored  wrong  thoughts  of 
him  "  In  the  evening,  at  Farnham,  where  they  stopped  to 
sleep,  Charles  saw  the  major  in  a  corner  of  the  room  ;  he 
beckoned  him  to  approach  ;  Harrison  obeyed  with  deference 
and  embarrassment,  with  an  air  at  once  fearless  and  timid : 
the  kincr  took  him  by  the  arm,  led  him  into  the  embrasure  of 
a  window,  and  conversed  for  nearly  an  hour  with  him,  and 
even  spoke  of  the  information  he  had  received  concerning 
him  •  ''Nothing  can  be  more  false,"  said  Harrison  ;  "  this  is 
what  I  said,  and  I  can  repeat  it:  it  is  'that  the  law  was 
equally  obligatory  to  great  and  small,  and  that  justice  had  no 
respect  to  persons  ;'  "  and  he  dwelt  upon  the  last  words  with 
marked  emphasis.  The  king  broke  off  the  discourse,  sat 
down  to  table,  and  did  not  again  address  Harrison,  though  he 
did  not  appear  to  attach  to  what  he   had  said  any  meaning 

which  alarmed  him.  ,       .      i:* 

He  was  to  reach  Windsor  the  next  day  ;  on  leaving  Farn- 
ham, however,  he  declared  that  he  would  stop  at  Bagshot  am 
dine  in  the  forest,  at  lord  Newburgh's,  one  of  his  most  faithlul 
cavaliers.     Harrison  dared  not  refuse,  though  so  much  eager- 
ness inspired  him  with  some  suspicions.     They  were  well 
founded  ;  lord  Newburgh,  a  great  amateur  of  horses,  had  one 
which  was  considered  the  fleetest  in  all  England  ;  for  a  long 
time  past,  in  secret  correspondence  with  the  king,  he  had  pei-- 
suaded  him  to  lame  the  horse  he  rode,  promising  him  one  with 
which  it  would  be  easy  for  him  to  escape  suddenly  from  his 
escort  and  baffle  all  pursuit  through    the    bye-paths  of  the 
forest,  with  which  the  king  was  well  acquainted.     Accord- 
ingly, from  Farnham  to  Bagshot,  Charles  was  constantly  com- 
plainincT  of  his  horse,  saying  that  he  would  change  it ;  but 
on  arriving  at  lord  Newburgh's,   he   found  that  the  one  he 
had  relied  upon  had  been  so  severely  kicked  in  the  stable, 
that  it  was  altogether  unavailable.     Lord  Newburgh,  greatly 
concerned,  offered  others  to  the  king,  which  he  said  were  ex- 
cellent, and  would  answer  every  purpose.     But  even  with  the 
fleetest  the  attempt  would  have  been  perilous ;  for  the  troopers 
kept  close  to  the  king,  and  each   carried  a  cocked  pistol  in 
his  hand.     Charles  readily  abandoned  the  idea  of  running 
such  risks ;  and  in  the  evening,  on  arriving  at  Windsor,  de- 
lighted to  re-enter  one  of  his  own  palaces,  to  occupy  one  ot 


his  own  chambers,  to  find  all  things  prepared  to  receive  him 
nearly  the  same  as  heretofore  when  he  came  with  his  court  to 
spend  some  holidays  in  that  beautiful  palace,  far  from  being 
tormented  by  any  sinister  presages,  he  seemed  almost  to  have 
forgotten  that  he  was  a  prisoner.* 

The  same  day  (Dec.  23),-f  almost  at  the  same  moment,  the 
commons  voted  that  he  should  be  brought  to  trial,  and  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  draw  up  his  impeachment.     Notwith- 
standing the  small  number  of  members  present,  several  voices 
rose  against  the  measure.     Some  demanded  that  they  should 
limit  themselves  to  deposing  him,   as  their  predecessors  had 
done  with  some  of  his ;  others,  without  expressing  it,  would 
have  wished  him  to  be  got  rid  of  privately,  so  as  to  profit  by 
his  death  without  having  to  answer  for  it.     But  the  daring 
free-thinkers,  the  sincere  fanatics,  the  rigid  republicans,  in- 
sisted upon  a  solemn  public  trial,  which  should  prove  their 
power  and  proclaim  their  right. J     Cromwell  alone,  in  reality 
more  eager  for  it  than  any  other  person,  still  hypocritically 
affected  moderation.     "  If  any  one,"  he  said,§   "  had  moved 
this  upon  design,  I  should  think  him  the  greatest  traitor  in  the 
world ;  but  since  Providence  and  necessity  have  cast  us  upon 
it,  I  pray  God  to  bless  our  counsels,  though  I  am  not  prepared 
on  the  sudden  to  give  my  advice."     By  one  of  those  strange 
but  invincible  scruples,  in  which  iniquity  betrays  itself  while 
seeking  a  disguise,  in  order  not  to  bring  the  king  to  trial  with- 
out a  law  in  the  name  of  which  he  could  be  condemned,  the 
house  voted  (Jan.  2)||  as  a  principle,  that  he  had  been  guilty 
of  treason  in  making  war  against  the  parliament ;  and  on  the 
motion  of  Scott,ir  an  ordinance  was  forthwith  adopted,  institut- 
ing a  high  court**  to  try  him.     One  hundred  and  fifty  com- 
missioners were  to  compose  it :  six  peers,  three  high  judges, 
eleven  baronets,  ten  knights,  six  aldermen  of  London,  all  the 
important  men  of  the  party,  in  the  army,  the  commons,  in  the 
city,  except  St.  John  and  Vane,  who  formally  declared  that 
they  disapproved  of  the  act,  and  would  not  take  any  part  in  it. 
When  the  ordinance  was  presented  for  the  sanction  of  the 

•  Herbert,  93,  &c.  ;  Clarendon,   iii.,  377;  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  1375; 
Whitelocke,  363. 
t  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  1252.     J  Whitelocke,  ut  sup  ;  Clarendon,  ii.,  380L 
I  Walker,  2,  54.  ||  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  1253.      IT  Walker,  2,  55. 

**  Pari.  Hist,  iii.,  1254. 


I 


f! 


436 


IIISTOUY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


437 


upper  house  (Jan.  2),  some  pride  seemed  to  revive  m  that 
assembly,  hitherto  so  servile  that  they  seemed  to  have  fully 
aSted^  their  own  nothingness:  "  There  is  no  parliament 
without  the  king,"  maintained  lord  ManchesteT^  ;;  ther  fo  e 
the  king  cannot  commit  treason  against  parliament  It  has 

pleased^the  commons,"  said  lord  Denbigh,  "to  put  my  name 
Ttheir  ordinance  ;  but  I  w^uld  be  torn  to  pieces  rather  th^n 
take  part  in  so  infamous  a  business."  "  I  do  not  like,  said 
he  earl  of  Pembroke,  ''to  meddle  with  affairs  of  life  and 
death  ;  I  shall  neither  speak  against  the  ordinance  nor  consent 
to  it  •"  and  the  lords  present,  twelve  in  number  unanimously 
reiected  it.*  Next  day,  receiving  no  message  from  the  lords, 
tTe  commons  appointed  two  of  their  members  to  go  to  the  upper 
house  Thave  its  journals  laid  before  them,  and  to  ascertain 

what  resolution  it\ad  come  to.f  O^.  ^»^^V\Tr  i  L^  i 
they  immediately  voted  that  the  opposition  of  the  lords  should 
not  constitute  an  obstacle ;  that  the  people  bemg,  after  Gocl, 
the  source  of  all  legitimate  power,  the  commons  of  England, 
elec^d  by  and  representing  the  people,  possessed  the  sovereign 
pow^^^^^  by  a  fresh  ordinance  (Jan.  6),$  the  high  cour 

of  justice,  instituted  in  the  name  of  the  commons  only,  and 
rediiced  to  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  members,§  received 
orders  to  meet  without  delay  to  arrange  the  preliminaries. 

Thev  met  accordingly  for  this  purpose  in  private,  on  the 
8th  imh  12th,  13th,  15th,  17th,  18th,  and  19th  of  January, 
John  Bradshaw,  a  cousin  of  Milton,  and  an  eminent  advocate 
presiding-a  man  grave  and  gentle  in  his  manners,  but  of  a 
narrow,  austere  mind,  a  sincere  fanatic  and  yet  ambitious, 
Sed  to  avarice  though  ready  to  lay  down  his  life  for  ns 
opinions.  Such  was  the  state  of  public  feeling,  that  insur- 
luntable  dissension  prevailed  even  in  this  court ;  no  sun. 
mons  no  effort  succeeded  in  collecting  at  these  preparatory 
Sngrmore  than  fifty-eight  members :  Fairfax  attended  the 

;?^-cS^ioi;^;;r^x%ers  and  the\hL  f^n^^^^ 

^to\  foTinlnct  i"to  participate  in  the  trial.and  his  name, 
not  found  in  the  second  list  — Whitelocke,  360. 


first  meeting,  but  no  other.  Even  among  those  who  did  attend, 
several  only  came  to  declare  their  opposition :  this  was  the 
course  pursued,  among  others,  by  Algernon  Sidney,  still  young, 
but  already  influential  in  the  feprrbllcan  party.  Retired  for 
some  time  to  Penshurst  castle,  the  seat  of  his  father  lord  Lei- 
cester, when  he  heard  of  his  nomination  on  the  high  court,  he 
immediately  went  to  London,  and"  in  the  sittings  of  the  13th, 
1.3th,  and  19th  of  January,  though  the  question  appeared  de-  / 
cided,  warmly  opposed  the  trial.  He  above  all  things  dreaded  ' 
the  people's  conceiving  an  aversion  for  a  republic,  perhaps  a 
sudden  insurrection,  which  would  save  the  king  and  lose  the 
commonwealth  beyond  recall :  "  No  one  will  stir,"  cried  Crom- 
well, annoyed  at  these  suggestions ;  '*  I  tell  you,  we  will  cut 
his  head  off  with  the  crown  upon  it."  "  Do  what  you  please," 
answered  Sidney ;  "  I  cannot  hinder  you  ;  but  I  certainly 
will  have  nothing  to  do  with  this  affair;"  and  he  went  out, 
and  never  returned.*  At  length,  consisting  only  of  members 
who  readily  accepted  their  mission,  the  court  entirely  occupied 
itself  with  arranging  the  form  of  the  trial.  John  Cook,  a  coun- 
sellor of  some  reputation  and  the  intimate  friend  of  Milton,  was 
appointed  attorney-general,  and  as  such  was  charged  to  take 
the  lead  in  drawing  up  the  act  of  accusation,  and  in  supporting- 
it  on  the  trial.  Elsynge,  who  had  been  clerk  of  the  commons 
up  to  this  period,  having  retired  under  pretext  of  illness,  Henry 
Scobell  was  selected  to  take  his  place.  They  carefully  dis- 
cussed what  regiments  and  how  many  should  be  on  service 
during  the  trial  ;  where  sentinels  should  be  stationed — some 
were  "placed  even  on  the  leads,  and  at  every  window  which 
looked  upon  the  hall — what  barriers  should  be  erected  to  keep 
the  people  apart,  not  only  from  the  tribunal,  but  also  from  the 
soldiers.  The  20th  of  January  was  appointed  for  the  king  to 
appear  before  the  court  at  Westminster  hall ;  and  so  early  as 
the  17th,  as  if  his  condemnation  had  already  been  pronounced, 
the  commons  had  charged  a  committee  to  visit  the  palaces, 
castles,  and  residences  of  the  king,  and  to  draw  up  an  exact 
inventory  of  his  furniture,  henceforth  the  property  of  par- 
liament.f 

When  colonel  Whychott,  governor  of  Windsor,  told   the 

•  Leicester's  Journal,  April ;  Godwin,  Hist,  of  the  Commonwealth, 
ii.,  669. 
t  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  1259  ;  State  Trials,  iv.,  1045—1067. 

37* 


438 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


439 


king  that  in  a  few  days  he  would  be  transferred  to  London : 
"  God  is  everywhere,"  answered  Charles,  *'  alike  in  wisdom, 
power,  and  goodness."*    Yet  the  news  inspired  him  with  great 
and  unexpected  uneasiness  ;  he  had  lived  for  the  last  three 
weeks  in  the  most  unwonted  feeling  of  security,  rarely  and 
incorrectly  informed  of  the  resolutions  of  the  house,  comfort- 
ing  himself  with  some  reports  from  Ireland  which  promised 
him  speedy  assistance,  and  more  confident,  gayer  even,  than 
his  servants  had  for  a  long  time  seen  him :  *'  In  six  nionths," 
he  said,  "  peace  will  be  re-established  in  England  ;  if  not,  I 
shall  receive  from  Ireland,  Denmark,  and  other  kingdoms,  the 
means  of  righting  me  ;"t  and  another  day  he  said  :  "  I  have 
three  more  cards  to  play,  the  worst  of  which  may  give  me 
back  everything. "$     And  yet  one  circumstance  had  lately 
disturbed  him ;  until  almost  the  close  of  his  stay  at  Windsor 
he  had  been  treated  and  served  with  all  the  etiquette  of  court ; 
he  dined  in  public,  in  the  hall  of  state,  under  a  canopy  ;  the 
chamberlain,  esquire-carver,  maitre-d'hotel,   and    cup-bearer 
performed  their  accustomed  offices  in  the  accustomed  manner ; 
the  cup  was  presented  to  him  kneeling,  the  dishes  were  brought 
in  covered,  were  tasted,  and  he  enjoyed  with  tranquil  gravity 
these  solemn  manifestations  of  respect.     All  at  once,  on  the 
reception  of  a  letter  from  head-quarters,  there  was  a  total 
change  ;  the  dishes  were  brought   in  uncovered  by  soldiers, 
were  no  longer  tasted,  none  knelt  to  him,  the  habitual  etiquette 
of  the  canopy  completely  ceased.     Charles  bitterly  grieved  at 
this :  ''  The   respect   and   honor  denied  me,"  said  he,  "  no 
sovereign  prince  ever  wanted,  nor  even  subjects  of  high  de- 
gree, according  to  ancient  practice  ;  is  there  anything  more 
contemptible  than  a  despised  prince  ?"  and  to  avoid  this  msult 
he  took  his  repast  in  his  own  room,  almost  alone,  himself  se- 
lecting  two  or  three  dishes  from  the  list  presented  to  him.^ 

On  Friday,  the  19th  of  January,  a  troop  of  horse  appeared 
at  Windsor,  with  Harrison  at  its  head,  appointed  to  remove  the 
king;  a  coach  and  six  waited  in  the  yard  of  the  castle; 
Charles  entered  it,  and  a  few  hours  after  once  more  re-entered 
London  and  St.  James's  palace,  surrounded  on  all  sides  by 

♦  Herbert,  105.  t  Whitelocke,  366. 

X  Leicester's  Journal ;  Godwin,  History  of  the  Commonwealth,  660. 
§  Herbert,  109. 


guards,  with  two  sentinels  at  the  very  door  of  his  chamber, 
and  Herbert,  who  slept  by  his  bed-side,  alone  to  serve  him.* 

Next  day,  the  20th,  towards  noon,  the  high  court,  assembled 
in  a  secret  sitting  in  the  painted  chamber,  arranged  the  final 
details  of  their  task  ;  they  had  scarcely  finished  prayers,  when 
it  was  announced  that  the  king,  carried  in  a  sedan  between 
two  ranks  of  soldiers,  was  at  hand  ;  Cromwell  ran  to  the  win- 
dow, and  turning  round,  pale,  yet  very  animated  :  *'  My  mas- 
ters, he  is  come — he  is  come  !"  he  cried  ;  "  and  now  we  are 
doing  that  great  work  that  the  whole  nation  will  be  full  of; 
therefore,  I  desire  you  to  let  us  resolve  here  what  answer  we 
shall  give  the  king,  when  he  comes  before  us  ;  for  the  first 
question  he  will  ask  us  will  be,  by  what  authority  and  com- 
mission we  do  try  him."  No  one  for  a  while  answered ;  at 
last  Henry  Martyn  f  said  :  "  In  the  name  of  the  commons  and 
parliament  assembled,  and  of  all  the  good  people  of  England." 
No  objection  was  made,  and  the  court  proceeded  in  solemn 
order  to  Westminster  hall,  the  lord-president,  Bradshaw,  at 
their  head,  with  the  sword  and  mace  before  him,  preceded  by 
sixteen  officers  armed  with  partisans.  The  president  took  his 
seat  in  a  chair  of  crimson  velvet ;  below  him  was  the  clerk 
of  the  house,  at  a  table  with  a  rich  Turkey  cover  on  which 
were  placed  the  mace  and  sword  ;  to  the  right  and  left,  on 
seats  of  scarlet  cloth,  sat  the  members  of  the  court ;  at  the  two 
extremities  were  men-at-arms,  who  stood  somewhat  in  advance 
of  the  tribunal.  The  court  having  taken  their  seats,  the  doors 
were  opened  and  the  crowd  rushed  in  ;  silence  being  restored, 
and  the  act  of  the  commons  read  which  authorized  the  court, 
the  names  were  called  over  ;  there  were  sixty-nine  members 
present.  "  Mr.  Sergeant,"  said  Bradshaw,  "  bring  in  the 
prisoner.  "J 

The  king  appeared,  under  the  guard  of  colonel  Hacker  and 
thirty-two  officers  ;  a  chair  of  crimson  velvet  was  prepared 
for  him  at  the  bar :  he  advanced,  cast  a  long  and  severe  look 

*  Herbert,  110  ;  Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  1395 ;  State  Trials,  v.,  1019 ;  Nut- 
ley's  evidence  in  Harrison's  trial. 

t  State  Trials,  v.,  1201 ;  sir  Purbeck  Temple's  evidence  in  the  trial  of 
Henry  Martyn. 

X  Most  of  the  facts  of  the  king's  trial  are  taken  from  two  contempo- 
rary accounts  inserted  in  the  State  Trials,  iv.,  989 — 1154,  to  which  the 
reader  is  referred  once  for  all. 


440 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


441 


i    i 


on  the  tribunal,  sat  down  in  the  chair  without  removmg  his 
hat  suddenly  rose  again,  looked  behind  h.m  ''t  the  guard 
Juced  auhe^eft,  andShe  crowded  spectators  at  the  nght  of 
the  hall,  once  more  turned  his  eyes  towards  the  judges,  and 
then  sat  down  amidst  universal  silence. 

Bradshaw  rose  immediately:  "Charles  Stuart,  king  of  Eng- 
land "  said  he,  "the  commons  of  England,  assembled  in  par- 
fament!  taking  notice  of  the  effusion  of  blood  m  the  land, 
whTch  is  fixed  on  you  as  the  author  of  it,  and  whereof  you  are 
S,  have  resolved  to  bring  you  to  a  trial  and  judgmen 
n  for  this  cause  the  tribunal  is  erected.  The  charges  will 
now  be  read  by  the  solicitor.general.'  »«ii.„ppt" 

The  attorney-general,  Cook,  then  rose  to  speak :  "  Silence ! 
said  the  king,  touching  him  with  his  cane  on  his  shoulder. 
Cook  turned^wund,  surprised  and  irritated  ;  the  head  of  the 
king's  cane  fell  off;  a  short  but  violent  emotion  appeared  in 
his  features ;  none  of  his  servants  were  near  enough  to  pick 
up  the  head  of  the  cane  for  him;  he  stooped,  '""k  it  up  him- 
self sat  down,  and  Cook  read  the  act  ot  accusation,  which, 
fmpuun.  to  the  king  all  the  evils  arising  first  from  his 
tTnny:  then  from  Ae  war,  demanded  that  he  should  be 
bound  to  answer  the  charges  brought  against  him,  and  that 
justice  should  be  done  upon  him  as  a  tyrant,  traitor,  and  mur- 

While  this  was  reading,  the  king,  still  seated,  looked  tran- 
quiUy,  sometimes  on  the  judges,  sometimes  on  the  public ; 
oncef  for  a  moment,  he  rose,  turned  his  back  to  the  tribunal 
to  look  behind  him,  and  sat  down  again  with  an  air  at  once 
of  curiosity  and  indifference.  He  smiled  at  the  words, 
"  Charles  Stuart,   tyrant,   traitor,   and  murderer,      but  said 

"°Whln  Cook   had   finished  :  "  Sir,"  said  Bradshaw  to  the 
king,  "  you  have  heard  the  charge  ;  the  court  awaits  your 

8.riswGr 

The  'kintr  :  "  I  do  wonder  for  what  cause  you  convene  me 
here.  Buflately  I  was  in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  and  there  I  was 
treated  with  by  divers  honorable  persons,  lords  and  commons, 
as  to  a  treaty  of  peace,  and  the  treaty  was  mgh  perfectioji-  1 
desire  to  know  by  what  authority  I  was  hurried  thence  hither, 
I  mean  lawful  authority,  lor  there  are  many  unlawful  powers, 


such  as  that  of  highwaymen.  I  desire  to  know  this,  I  say, 
before  I  answer  your  charge." 

Bradshaw :  "  If  you  had  pleased  to  pay  attention  to  what 
the  court  said  to  you  on  your  arrival,  you  would  know  what 
that  authority  is.  They  desire  you,  in  the  name  of  the  Eng- 
lish people,  of  whom  you  were  elected  king,  to  answer." 

The  king  :  "  No,  sir ;  this  I  deny." 

Bradshaw  :  "  If  you  demur  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  court, 
I  must  let  you  know  the  court  overrules  your  demurrer.  You 
must  plead,  or  the  court  will  take  the  charge  pro  confesso." 

The  king  :  **  I  tell  you,  England  never  was  an  elective 
kingdom ;  that  it  has  been  for  more  than  a  thousand  years  an 
hereditary  kingdom.  Let  me,  then,  know  really  by  what 
authority  I  am  summoned  here.  There  is  lieutenant-colonel 
Cobbett ;  ask  him  whether  it  was  not  by  force  he  brought  me 
from  the  Isle  of  Wight.  I  will  uphold,  as  much  as  any  here, 
the  just  privileges  of  the  house  of  commons.  But  I  see  no 
lords  here  :  where  are  the  lords  that  should  go  to  make  up  a 
parliament  ?*  A  king,  also,  is  essential.  Is  this  what  you 
call  bringing  the  king  to  his  parliament  ?  " 

Bradshaw  :  "  Sir,  the  court  awaits  from  you  a  definitive 
answer.  If  what  we  tell  you  of  our  authority  is  not  sufficient 
for  you,  it  is  sufficient  for  us ;  we  know  it  is  founded  on  the 
authority  of  God  and  of  the  kingdom." 

The  king  :  "  It  is  neither  my  opinion  nor  yours  that  is  to 
decide." 

Bradshaw :  *'  The  court  have  heard  you  ;  you  will  be  dis- 
posed of  according  to  their  orders.  Take  away  the  prisoner. 
The  court  adjourns  to  Monday  next." 

The  court  retired ;  the  king  departed  with  the  same  escort 


that  brought  him.  As  he  got  up,  he  looked  at  the  sword  placed 
upon  the  table :  "  I  do  not  fear  that,"  said  he,  pointing  to  it 
with  his  cane.  As  he  went  down  stairs,  a  few  voices  were 
heard  to  cry — "Justice  !  justice  ! "  but  a  far  greater  number 
shouted — "  God  save  the  king  !  God  save  your  majesty  ! " 

On  the  Monday,  at  the  sitting  of  the  court,  sixty-two  mem- 
bers being  present,  the  court  commanded  that  entire  silence 
should  be  observed,  under  pain  of  imprisonment ;  but,  never- 
theless, when  the  king  arrived  he  was  hailed  with  loud  accla- 

*  State  Trials,  v.,  1081 ;  in  Cook's  trial,  evidence  given  by  Nutley. 


442 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ENGLlbH    REVOLUTION. 


443 


i 


mations.  The  same  discussion  was  renewed  on  both  sides 
with  equal  pertinacity.  ''  Sir,"  Bradshaw  at  length  said, 
"  neither  you  nor  any  one  else  will  be  allowed  to  dispute  the 
jurisdiction  of  this  court ;  they  sit  here  by  the  supreme  au- 
thority  of  the  nation,  the  commons  assembled  in  parliament, 
to  whom  your  ancestors  ever  were,  and  to  whom  you  are,  ac- 
countable." 

The  king :  "  By  your  favor,  show  me  one  precedent." 

Bradshaw  rose  angrily,  and  said :  "  Sir,  we  sit  not  here  to 
answer  your  questions.  Plead  to  the  charge  ;  guilty,  or  not 
guilty?"* 

The  king :  "  You  have  not  heard  my  reasons." 

Bradshaw :  "  Sir,  you  have  no  reasons  to  give  against  the 
highest  of  all  jurisdictions." 

The  king :  "  Then  show  me  this  jurisdiction,  in  which  rea- 
son is  not  heard." 

Bradshaw :  "  Sir,  we  show  it  to  you  here  ;  it  is  the  com- 
mons of  England.     Sergeant,  take  away  the  prisoner ! " 

The  king  turned  suddenly  round  towards  the  people,  and 
said  :  "  Remember  that  the  king  of  England  suffers,  being  not 
permitted  to  give  his  reasons  lor  the  liberty  of  the  people ! " 
and  an  almost  general  cry  arose  :  "  God  save  the  king  !  "f 

The  next  sitting,  on  the  23d  of  January,  exhibited  the  same 
scenes  ;  the  sympathy  of  the  people  for  the  king  became  daily 
more  earnest ;  in  vain  did  the  irritated  officers  and  soldiers 
shout  the  menacing  cry  of  "  Justice  !  Execution !"  the  inti- 
midated crowd  were  silent  for  a  moment ;  but,  upon  some 
fresh  incident,  forgot  their  alarm,  and  "  God  save  the  king  !" 
echoed  on  all  sides.  It  was  even  heard  among  the  troops :  on 
the  23d,  as  the  king  was  leaving  after  the  rising  of  the  court, 
a  soldier  of  the  guard  cried  aloud,  *'  Sire,  God  bless  you !" 
An  officer  struck  him  with  his  cane.  "  Sir,"  said  the  king, 
"  the  punishment  exceeds  the  ofrence."^  At  the  same  time 
representations  were  sent  from  abroad,  and  proceedings  taken, 
not  very  formidable,  it  is  true,  and  most  of  them  not  very  ur- 
gent, but  still  fanning  the  flame  of  public  indignation.  The 
French  minister  delivered  to  the  commons  (Jan.  3)  a  letter 
from   the    queen,    Henrietta-Maria,    soliciting  permission  to 

•  State  Trials,  v.,  1086,  in  the  trial  of  the  regicides,  and  particularly 
in  that  of  Cook  ;  John  Herne*s  evidence. 
]  State  Trials,  v.,  1086.  |  Herbert,  114. 


come  and  join  her  husband,  either  to  persuade  him  to  yield 
to  their  wishes  or  to  give  him  the  consolations  of  affection.* 
The  prince  of  Wales  wrote  to  Fairfax  and  to  the  council  of 
officers,  in  the  hope  of  awakening  in  their  breasts  some  feel- 
ing of  loyalty.f  The  Scottish  commissioners  officially  pro- 
tested in  the  name  of  that  kingdom,  against  all  that  was  going 
on  (Jan.  6  and  22)4  The  early  arrival  of  an  extraordinary 
embassy  from  the  States,  sent  to  interpose  in  the  king's  favor, 
was  announced  ;  already  John  Cromwell,  an  officer  in  the 
service  of  the  Dutch,  and  cousin  to  Oliver,  was  in  London, 
besetting  the  lieutenant-general  with  almost  threatening  re- 
])roaches.§  The  printing  of  a  manuscript  entitled  Royal 
Sighs,  the  production,  it  was  said,  of  the  king  himself,  and  of 
a  nature  to  excite  an  insurrection  for  his  deliverance,  was  dis- 
covered and  its  publication  stopped. ||  On  all  sides,  in  a 
word,  if  not  great  obstacles,  at  least  new  causes  of  fermenta- 
tion arose,  which  would  assuredly  disappear,  the  republicans 
promised  themselves,  as  f.oon  as  the  question  should  be  put  to 
an  end  ;  but  which,  so  long  as  it  remained  in  suspense,  ren- 
dered every  day's  delay  more  embarrassing  and  perilous. 

They  resolved  to  relieve  themselves  at  once  from  this  situa- 
tion, to  cut  short  any  further  debate,  and  that  the  king  should 
only  appear  again  to  receive  his  sentence.  Whether  from  a 
lingering  respect  for  legal  forms,  or  to  produce,  if  required, 
new  proofs  of  Charles's  bad  faith  in  the  negotiations,  the  court 
employed  the  24th  and  25th  in  collecting  evidence  from  thirty- 
two  witnesses.  On  the  25th,  at  the  close  of  their  sitting,  and 
almost  without  any  discussion,  they  voted  the  king's  con- 
demnation as  a  tyrant,  traitor,  murderer,  and  enemy  to  the 
country.  Scott,  Martyn,  Harrison,  Lisle,  Say,  Ireton,  and 
Love,  were  charged  to  draw  up  the  sentence.  There  were 
only  forty-six  members  present  that  day.  On  the  26th,  sixty- 
two  members  being  assembled  with  closed  doors,  the  form 
of  the  sentence  was  determined  upon  after  some  discussion. 
The  court  adjourned  to  the  following  day,  then  to  pronounce 
it.  On  the  27th,  at  noon,  after  two  hours'  conference  in  the 
painted  chamber,  the  sitting  began,  according  to  custom,  by 

•  Clarendon,  iii.,  368.       f  lb.,  296.        J  Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  1277,  &c. 
§  Banks,  Critical  Review,  &c.,  103;  Mark  Noble,  Memoirs  of  the 
Protectoral  House,  &c.,  i.,  50. 
II  The  famous  EUuv  BaviXncif. 


444 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


445 


calling  over  the  names  ;  when  Fairfax's  was  called  :  "  He 
has  too  much  wit  to  be  here  !"  exclaimed  the  voice  of  a  woman 
from  the  gallery.  After  a  moment's  surprise  and  hesitation, 
the  clerk  proceeded  :  sixty-seven  members  were  present. 
When  the  king  entered  the  hall,  a  violent  cry  of  "  Execu- 
tion !  Justice !  Execution !"  was  raised.  The  soldiers  were 
very  excited,  Axtell,  who  commanded  them,  animating  their 
shouts ;  a  few  groups  scattered  here  and  there  about  the  hall 
joined  in  these  clamors  ;  but  the  crowd  was  silent  and  in  con- 
sternation. 

"Sir,"  said  the  king  to  Bradshaw,  before  he  sat  down,  "1 
shall  ask  to  speak  a  word ;  I  hope  I  shall  not  give  you  occa- 
sion  to  interrupt  me." 

Bradshaw  :  "  You  shall  answer  in  your  turn  ;  first  listen  to 

the  court." 

The  king  :  **  Sir,  by  your  favor,  I  desire  to  be  heard.  It 
is  but  a  word.     An  immediate  judgment " 

Bradshaw  :  "  Sir,  you  shall  be  heard  in  fit  time  ;  you  must 
first  hear  the  court." 

The  king  :  "  Sir,  I  desire  ....  what  I  have  to  say  is  con- 
cerning that  which  the  court  is,  I  think,  about  to  pronounce ; 
and  it  is  not  easy,  sir,  to  recall  a  precipitate  judgment." 

Bradshaw :  *'  You  will  be  heard,  sir,  before  judgment  is 
passed.     Till  then  you  must  abstain  from  speaking." 

On  hearing  this  promise  some  serenity  re-appeared  on  the 
king's  countenance  ;  he  sat  down  :  Bradshaw  went  on  : 

"  Gentlemen,  it  is  well  known  to  you  all  that  the  prisoner 
here  at  the  bar  has  several  times  been  brought  before  the 
court  to  answer  a  charge  of  high  treason  and  other  great 
crimes,  brought  against  him  in  the  name  of  the  people  of 
England—" 

"  It's  a  lie  !  Not  one  half  of  them,"  cried  the  same  voice 
which  had  answered  at  the  name  of  Fairfax  :  ''  Where  are 
they  or  their  consents  ?     Oliver  Cromwell  is  a  traitor  !" 

The  whole  assembly  was  startled :  all  eyes  were  turned 
towards  the  gallery.  "  Down  with  the  w — ,"  cried  Axtell, 
"  shoot  them !"     The   speaker  was   soon   found  to  be  lady 

Fairfax.* 

A  general  excitement  arose  :    the  soldiers,  though  nume- 

•  State  Trials,  1150 ;  Evidence  of  sir  Purbeck  Temple. 


rously  interspersed  with  the  crowd,  and  using  little  ceremony, 
had  much  difficulty  in  repressing  it :  order  being  at  length 
somewhat  re-established,  Bradshaw  recited  the  king's  obsti- 
nate refusal  to  answer  to  the  charge,  the  notoriety  of  the  crimes 
imputed  to  him,  and  then  declared  that  the  court  were  agreed 
as  to  the  sentence,  but  consented,  before  pronouncing  it,  to 
hear  the  prisoner's  defence,  provided  he  would  desist  from 
denying  their  jurisdiction. 

"  I  ask,"  said  the  king,  '*  to  be  heard  in  the  painted  cham- 
ber, by  the  lords  and  commons,  on  a  proposal  which  is  of  far 
greater  importance  to  the  peace  of  the  kingdom  and  the 
liberty  of  my  subjects  than  to  my  own  preservation." 

Deep  agitation  pervaded  the  court  and  the  assembly ; 
friends  and  enemies  all  endeavored  to  imagine  with  what 
intention  the  king  requested  this  conference  with  the  two 
houses,  and  what  he  could  have  to  propose  to  them  ;  a  thou- 
sand different  suggestions  went  about;  the  majority  seemed 
to  think  that  he  wished  to  abdicate  the  crown  in  favor  of  his 
son.  But  whatever  it  might  be  that  he  intended,  the  per- 
plexity of  the  court  was  extreme ;  the  party,  notwithstanding 
their  triumph,  did  not  feel  itself  in  a  position  either  to  lose 
time  or  to  run  fresh  hazards ;  among  the  judges  themselves, 
some  indecision  was  perceptible.  To  escape  the  peril,  Brad- 
shaw maintained  that  the  king's  request  was  only  a  trick  still 
to  escape  the  jurisdiction  of  the  court ;  a  long  and  close  debate 
took  place  between  them  on  this  subject.  Charles  again  and 
again  insisted,  more  and  more  urgently,  on  being  heard ;  but 
on  each  occasion  the  soldiers  round  him  became  more  and 
more  noisy  and  abusive  ;  some  lit  their  pipes  and  blew  the 
smoke  towards  him ;  others  murmured  in  coarse  terms  at 
the  slowness  of  the  trial ;  Axtell  laughed  and  joked  aloud. 
In  vain  did  the  king  several  times  turn  towards  them,  and 
sometimes  by  gesture,  sometimes  by  words  seek  to  obtain  a 
few  moments  of  attention  or  at  least  of  silence ;  he  was  an- 
swered by  the  cries  :  "  Justice  !  Execution  !"  At  length, 
deeply  agitated,  almost  beside  himself:  "  Hear  me  !  hear  me  !" 
he  cried,  in  passionate  accents  ;  the  same  shouts  were  re- 
newed :*  suddenly  an  unexpected  movement  exhibited  itself 
among  the  judges.     Colonel  Downs,  one  of  the  members  of 

•  State  Trials,  v.,  1150, 1151 ;  in  Axtel?s  Trial. 
38 


446 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


the  court,  became  violently  agitated  and  sought  to  rise  from 
his  chair  ;  in  vain  did  the  colleague  on  each  side,  Cawley  and 
colonel  Wanton,  seek  to  keep  him  down,  and  compose  him ; 
*' Have  we  hearts  of  stone  ?"  he  said  ;  "are  we  men?"  "You 
will  ruin  us  and  yourself,"  said  Cawley.  "  No  matter,"  re- 
plied Downs,  "  if  I  die  for  it,  I  must  do  it."  On  hearing  this, 
Cromwell,  who  sat  beneath  him,  suddenly  turned  round: 
"Colonel,"  said  he,  "  are  you  yourself?  What  mean  you? 
Can't  you  be  quiet  ?"  "  Sir,"  answered  Downs  ;  "  no,  1  can- 
not  be  quiet ;"  and  immediately  rising,  he  said  to  the  presi- 
dent :  "  My  lord,  I  am  not  satisfied  to  give  my  consent  to  this 
sentence,  and  have  reasons  to  offer  to  you  against  it,  and  I 
desire  the  court  may  adjourn  to  hear  me,  and  deliberate." 
"  If  any  one  of  the  court,"  gravely  answered  Bradshaw,  "  be 
unsatisfied,  the  court,  must  adjourn  ;"  and  they  all  immedi- 
ately  passed  into  an  adjoining  room. 

.They  were  no  sooner  there  than  Cromwell  roughly  assailed 
the  colonel,  upbraiding  him  for  the  difficulty  and  confusion  in 
which  he  was  involving  the  court.  Downs  defended  himself 
with  agitation,  alleging  that  perhaps  the  king's  proposals  would 
be  satisfactory ;  that,  aft;er  all,  what  they  had  sought,  what 
they  still  sought,  were  good  and  solid  guarantees ;  that  they 
ought  not  to  refuse,  without  knowing  what  they  were,  those 
which  the  king  wished  to  offer ;  that  they  owed  to  him  at 
least  to  hear  him,  and  to  respect,  in  his  person,  the  ordinary 
rules  of  common  justice.  Cromwell  heard  him  with  rude 
impatience,  moving  round  and  round  him,  and  interrupting 
him  at  every  word :  "  At  last,"  said  he,  "  we  see  what  great 
reason  the  gentleman  had  to  put  such  a  trouble  and  disturb- 
ance upon  us  ;  sure,  he  doth  not  know  that  he  hath  to  do  with 
the  hardest  hearted  man  that  lives  upon  the  earth.  However, 
it  is  not  fit  that  the  court  should  be  hindered  from  their  duty 
by  one  peevish  man.  The  bottom  of  all  this  is  known  ;  he 
would  fain  save  his  old  master ;  let  us,  without  more  ado,  go 
back  and  do  our  duty."  In  vain  did  colonel  Harvey  and 
some  others  support  the  opinion  of  Downs ;  the  discussion 
was  speedily  repressed;  in  half  an  hour,  the  court  returned 
to  the  hall,  and  Bradshaw  declared  to  the  king  that  they  re- 
jected his  proposition.* 


•  State  Trials,  v.,  1197,  1205.  1211,  1218;  in  the  trials  of  Harvey, 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


447 


Charles  seemed  quite  overcome,  and  renewed  the  applica- 
tion  but  hesitatingly ;  "  If  you  have  nothing  more  to  say," 
said  Bradshaw,   "  we  shall  proceed  to  sentence."      "  Sir,  I 
have  nothing  more  to  say,"  replied  the  king ;  "  but  I  shall 
desire  that  what  I  have  said  may  be  entered."     Bradshaw, 
without  answering,  told  him  he  was  about  to  hear  his  sen- 
tence ;  but  before  having  it  read,  he  addressed  to  the  king  a 
long  speech,  a  solemn  apology  for  the  conduct  of  parliament, 
in  which  all  the  king's  faults  were  set  forth,  and  all  the  evils 
of  the  civil  war  cast  upon  him  alone,  since  his  tyranny  had 
made  resistance  a  duty  as  well  as  a  necessity.     His  language 
was  stern,  bitter,  but  grave,  godly,  free  from  insult,  the  result 
of  a  conviction  evidently  profound,  though  blended  with  some- 
what of  vindictive  emotion.     The  king  listened  without  in- 
terrupting him,  grave  as  himself.     Yet,  as  the  speech  drew 
near  its  conclusion,  a  visible  agitation  took  possession  of  him ; 
as  soon  as  Bradshaw  stopped,  he  attempted  to  speak.     Brad- 
shaw opposed  it,  and  gave  orders  to  the  clerk  to  read  the 
sentence  ;  when  he  had  done  :  "  The  sentence  now  read  and 
published,"  he  said,  "  is  the  act,  sentence,  judgment,  and  re- 
solution of  the  whole  court;"  and  the  whole  court  stood  up  in 
sign  of  assent.     "  Sir,"  suddenly  exclaimed  the  king,  "  will 
you  hear  me  a  word  ?" 

Bradshaw :  "  Sir,  you  are  not  to  be  heard  after  the  sen- 
tence." 

The  king  :  "  No,  sir  ?" 

Bradshaw  :  "  No,  sir,  by  your  favor.  Guards,  withdraw 
the  prisoner  !" 

The  king :  "  I  may  speak  after  sentence,  by  your  favor, 
sir  ;  I  may  speak  after  my  sentence,  ever.     By  your  favor." 

("  Hold  !"  said  Bradshaw.)     "  The  sentence,  sir, 1  say, 

sir,  I  do 1  am  not  suffered  to  speak  :  expect  what  justice 

other  people  will  have  !" 

The  soldiers  here  surrounded  him,  and  removing  him  from 
the  bar,  carried  him  with  violence  to  the  place  where  his  sedan 
waited  for  hfm  ;  as  he  went  down  the  stairs,  he  had  to  endure 
the  grossest  insults;  some  threw  their  lighted  pipes  in  his 
way  ;  others  blew  the  smoke  of  their  tobacco  in  his  face  ;  all  . 

Robert  Lilburne,  Downs,  and  Wayte,  and  from  the  narrative  of  the 
accused  themselves. 


448 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


449 


cried  close  to  him,  "  Justice  !  execution  !"*  Yet  the  people 
still  mixed  up  with  these  cries,  the  shout,  "  God  save  your 
majesty  !  God  deliver  your  majesty  from  the  hands  of  your 
enemies  !"  and  till  he  had  seated  himself  in  the  sedan,  the 
bearers  stood  with  their  hats  off,  notwithstanding  Axtell's 
orders  to  the  contrary,  who  even  struck  them  for  their  disobe- 
dience. They  set  out  for  Whitehall ;  the  troops  lined  each 
side  of  the  road  ;  before  the  shops,  at  every  door,  every  win- 
dow,  there  was  a  crowd  of  people,  most  of  them  silent,  some 
weeping,  others  praying  aloud  for  the  king.  Every  few 
minutes,  the  soldiers,  to  celebrate  their  triumph,  renewed  the 
cry,  "  Justice  !  Justice  !  Execution  !"  But  Charles  had 
regained  his  accustomed  serenity  ;  and,  too  proud  to  believe 
in  the  sincerity  of  their  hatred,  said,  as  he  came  out  of  the 
chair  :  ^'  Poor  souls,  for  a  piece  of  money  they  would  do  so  for 
their  commanders  !"t 

As  soon  as  he  arrived  at  Whitehall  ;  "  Hark  ye  !  said  he 
to  Herbert,  "  my  nephew  the  prince  elector,  and  some  other 
lords  that  love  me,  will  endeavor  to  see  me,  which  I  would 
take  in  good  part,  but  my  time  is  short  and  precious,  and  I 
am  desirous  to  improve  it  the  best  I  may  ;  I  wish  to  employ 
it  in  preparation  ;  I  hope  they  will  not  take  it  ill,  that  none 
have  access  to  me  but  my  children.  The  best  office  they  can 
now  do  for  me  is  to  pray  for  me."  He  asked  to  see  his 
younger  children,  the  princess  Elizabeth  and  the  duke  of 
Gloucester,  who  had  remained  in  charge  of  parliament,  and 
Juxon,  bishop  of  London,  of  whom  we  had  already,  through 
the  intervention  of  Hugh  Peters,  obtained  religious  assistance. 
Both  requests  were  granted.  Next  day,  the  28th,  the  bishop 
went  to  St.  James's,  whither  Charles  had  been  transferred ; 
when  he  saw  the  king,  he  burst  into  an  agony  of  grief: 
"  Leave  off  this,  my  lord,"  said  Charles  ;  ''  we  have  not  time 
for  it ;  let  us  think  of  our  great  work,  and  prepare  to  meet 
that  great  God,  to  whom,  ere  long,  I  am  to  give  an  account 

♦  State  Trials,  v.,  1151,  in  Axtell's  trial.  A  witness  deposed,  on  the 
trial  of  Augustin  Garland,  one  of  the  judges,  that  he  had  seen  him  at 
the  foot  of  the  stairs  spit  in  the  king's  face.  Garland  absolutely  de- 
nied it,  and  the  judges  did  not  insist.  Herbert,  who  accompanied  the 
king,  does  not  mention  it  either.  I  have  not,  therefore,  thought  proper 
to  mention  it  as  authentic,  through  Warwick,  who  had  almost  all  the 
details  inserted  in  his  memoirs  from  bishop  Juxon,  expressly  aflfirms  it. 

t  State  Trials,  iv.,  1130  ;  Herbert,  Memoirs,  114 


of  myself.  I  hope  I  shall  do  it  with  peace,  and  that  you  will 
assist  me  therein.  We  will  not  talk  of  these  rogues,  in  whose 
hands  I  am  ;  they  thirst  after  my  blood,  and  they  will  have 
it,  and  God's  will  be  done  !  I  thank  God,  I  heartily  forgive 
them  ;  and  I  will  talk  of  them  no  more."  He  passed  the  rest 
of  the  day  in  pious  conference  with  the  bishop ;  it  was  with 
great  difficulty  he  obtained  permission  to  be  left  alone  in  his 
room,  where,  at  first,  colonel  Hacker  had  posted  two  soldiers  ; 
and,  as  it  were,  all  the  while  Juxon  was  with  him,  the  door 
was  opened  every  few  minutes  by  the  sentinel  on  duty,  to 
make  sure  that  the  king  was  there.  As  he  had  anticipated, 
his  nephew  the  prince-elector,  the  duke  of  Richmond,  the 
marquis  of  Hertford,  the  earls  of  Southampton  and  Lindsey, 
and  other  old  servants,  came  to  see  him  ;  but  he  did  not  re- 
ceive them.  Mr.  Seymour,  a  gentleman  in  the  service  of  the 
prince  of  Wales,  arrived  the  same  day  from  the  Hague,* 
bearer  of  a  letter  from  the  prince  ;  the  king  ordered  him  to  be 
admitted,  read  the  letter,  threw  it  into  the  fire,  gave  his 
answer  to  the  messenger,  and  sent  him  away  immediately. 
Next  day,  the  29th,  almost  at  dawn  of  day,  the  bishop  re- 
turned to  St.  James's.  Morning  prayers  over,  the  king  pro- 
duced a  box,  containing  broken  crosses  of  the  order  of  St. 
George  and  of  the  garter  :  "  You  see,"  he  said  to  Juxon,  "  all 
the  wealth  now  in  my  power  to  give  my  two  children."  The 
children  were  then  brought  to  him  ;  on  seeing  her  father,  the 
princess  Elizabeth,  twelve  years  old,  burst  into  tears;  the 
duke  of  Gloucester,  who  was  only  eight,  wept  also  when  he 
saw  his  sister  weeping  ;  Charles  took  them  upon  his  knees, 
divided  his  jewels  between  them,  consoled  his  daughter,  gave 
her  advice  as  to  the  books  she  was  to  read  to  strengthen  her- 
self against  popery,  charged  her  to  tell  her  brothers  that  he 
had  forgiven  his  enemies,  her  mother  that  in  thought  he  had 
ever  been  with  her,  and  that  to  the  last  hour  he  loved  her  as 
dearly  as  on  their  marriage  day  ;  then  turning  towards  the 
little  duke  :  "  My  dear  heart,"  he  said,  "  they  will  soon  cut 
off  thy  father's  head."  The  child  looked  at  him  fixedly  and 
earnestly  :  "  Mark,  child,  what  I  say  ;  they  will  cut  off  my 
head,  and  perhaps  make  thee  king ;  but  mark  what  I  say, 

*  According  to  Tomlinson's  evidence  (State  Trials,  v.,  1179),  it  was 
on  the  day  of  his  death,  and  at  Whitehall,  that  the  king  received  Mr. 
Seymour ;  I  have  followed  Herbert's  account— Memoirs,  ut  sup, 

38* 


^1. 


i 


450 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


thou  must  not  be  king  so  long  as  thy  brothers  Charles  and 
James  live,  but  they  will  cut  off  thy  brothers'  heads  if  they 
can  catch  them  ;  and  thine,  too,  they  will  cut  off  at  last ! 
Therefore,  I  charge  thee,  do  not  be  made  a  king  by  them." 
"  I  will  be  torn  in  pieces  first !"  replied  the  child,  with  great 

,  emotion.  Charles  fervently  kissed  him,  put  him  down,  kissed 
his  daughter,  blessed  them  both,  and  called  upon  God  to  bless 
them  ;  then  suddenly  rising  :  "  Have  them  taken  away,"  he 
said  to  Juxon  ;  the  children  sobbed  aloud  ;  the  king,  standing 
with  his  head  pressed  against  the  window,  tried  to  suppress  his 
tears  ;  the  door  opened,  the  children  were  going  out,  Charles 
ran  from  the  window,  took  them  in  his  arms,  blessed  them 
once  more,  and  at  last  tearing  himself  from  their  caresses,  fell 
upon  his  knees  and  began  to  pray  with  the  bishop  and  Her- 
bert,  the  only  witnesses  of  this  deeply  painful  scene.* 

On  the  same  morning  the  high  court  had  met,  and  appointed 
the  execution  to  take  place  next  day,  January  30,  between 
ten  and  five  o'clock  ;  but  when  it  became  necessary  to  sign 
the  fatal  order,  it  was  with  great  difficulty  the  commissioners 
could  be  got  together ;  in  vain  two  or  three  of  the  most  de- 
termined stood  outside  the  door,  stopped  such  of  their  col- 
leagues  as  were  passing  by  towards  the  house  of  commons, 
and  called  upon  them  to  come  and  affix  their  names.f  Several 
even  of  those  who  had  voted  for  the  condemnation,  kept  out  of 
the  way,  or  expressly  refused  to  sign.  Cromwell  himself,  gay, 
noisy,  daring  as  ever,  gave  way  to  his  usual  coarse  buffoonery; 
after  having  signed  himself— he  was  the  third  to  do  so — he 
smeared  with  ink  Henry  Martyn'g-face  who  sat  by  him,  and 
who  immediately  did  the  same  to  him.  Colonel  Ingoldsby, 
his  cousin,  who  had  been  appointed  a  member  of  the  court, 
but  had  never  taken  his  seat,  accidentally  came  into  the  hall : 
"  This  time,"  said  Cromwell,  "  he  shall  not  escape  ;"  and 
laughing  aloud,  he  seized  Ingoldsby,  and  with  the  assistance 
/;tof  a  few  other  members,  put  the  pen   between  his  fingers, 

^nd  guiding  his  hand,  obliged  him  to  sign.:):  Fifty-nine  sig- 
natures  were  at  last  collected  ;  many,  either  from  agitation 
or  design,  such  mere  scrawls  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to 

*Rushworth,  ii.,  4,  1398  :  Journals,  Commons,  Jan.  20 
t  State  Trials,  v.,  1219  ;  Thomas  Wayte's  trial. 
X  Harris,  Life  of  Cromwell,  201 ;  Mark  Noble's  Memoirs  of  the  Pro- 
tectoral  House,  i.,  118. 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


451 


make  them  out.  The  order  was  addressed  to  colonel  Hacker, 
colonel  Huncks,  and  lieutenant  Phayre,  who  were  charged  to 
see  to  the  execution.  Hitherto  the  ambassadors  extraordi- 
nary from  the  States,  Albert  Joachim  and  Adrien  Pauw, 
who  had  been  five  days  in  London,  had  vainly  solicited  an 
audience  of  parliament ;  neither  their  official  request,  nor  their 
private  applications  to  Fairfax,  Cromwell,  and  some  other 
officers,  had  obtained  it  for  them.  They  were  suddenly  in- 
formed, about  one  o'clock,  that  they  would  be  received  at  two 
by  the  lords,  at  three  by  the  commons.  They  went  im- 
mediately, and  delivered  their  message  ;  an  answer  was  pro- 
mised them,  and  as  they  returned  to  their  lodgings  they  saw 
commencing,  in  front  of  Whitehall,  the  preparations  for  the 
execution.  They  had  received  visits  from  the  French  and 
Spanish  ambassadors,  but  neither  would  join  in  their  pro- 
ceedings ;  the  first  satisfied  himself  with  protesting,  that  for  a 
long  time  past  he  had  foreseen  this  deplorable  event  and  done 
all  in  his  power  to  avert  it ;  the  other  said  he  had  not  yet  re- 
ceived orders  from  his  court  to  interfere  in  the  matter,  though 
he  every  hour  expected  them.  Next  day,  the  30th,  about 
twelve,  a  second  interview  with  Fairfax,  in  the  house  of  his 
secretary,  gave  the  Dutch  ambassadors  a  gleam  of  hope  ;  the 
general  had  been  moved  by  their  representations,  and,  seem- 
ing at  length  resolved  to  rouse  himself  from  his  inaction,  pro- 
mised to  go  immediately  to  Westminster,  to  solicit  at  least  a 
reprieve.  But  as  they  left  him,  before  the  very  house  in 
which  they  had  conversed  with  him,  they  met  a  body  of 
cavalry,  clearing  the  way  ;  all  the  avenues  to  Whitehall,  all 
the  adjacent  streets,  were  equally  filled  with  them  ;  on  all 
sides  they  heard  it  said  that  everything  was  ready,  and  that 
the  king  would  soon  arrive.* 

And  so  it  was :  early  in  the  morning,  in  a  room  at  White- 
hall, beside  the  bed  from  which  Ireton  and  Harrison  had  not 
yet  risen,  Cromwell,  Hacker,  Huncks,  Axtell,  and  Phayre 
had   assembled  to  draw  up  the   last  act  of  this  fearful  pro- 

*  These  details  are  taken  from  the  correspondence  of  the  ambassadors 
themselves  with  the  States,  of  which  a  translation  is  appended  to  the 
present  volume.  They  prove  how  doubtful,  notwithstanding  Herbert's 
narrative,  whom  in  other  respects  Mr.  Godwin  is  wrong  in  disbeliev- 
ing, is  the  anecdote  after  which  almost  all  the  historians  have  related 
that  Ireton  and  Harrison  had  passed  the  time  in  prayers  with  Fairfax 
to  conceal  from  him  what  was  going  on. 


452 


ENGLISH  REVOLUTION. 


HISTORY    OF   THE 


453 


ceeding,  the  order  to  the  executioner  :  "  Colonel,"  said  Crom- 
well to  Huncks,  "  it  is  you  who  must  write  and  sign  it." 
Huncks  obstinately  refused  :  "  What  a  stubborn  grumbler  !" 
said  Cromwell.  "  Colonel  Huncks,"  said  Axtell,  "  I  am 
ashamed  of  you  ;  the  ship  is  now  coming  into  the  harbor,  and 
will  you  strike  sail  before  we  come  to  anchor?"  Huncks 
persisted  in  his  refusal ;  Cromwell,  muttering  between  his 
teeth,  sat  down,  wrote  the  order  himself  and  presented  it  to 
colonel  Hacker,  who  signed  it  without  objection.* 

Nearly  at  the  same  moment,  after  four  hours'  profound 
sleep  Charles  left  his  bed  :  "  I  have  a  great  work  to  do  this 
day,"  he  said  to  Herbert ;  '•  I  must  get  up  immediately ;"  and 
he  sat  down  at  his  dressing-table.  Herbert,  in  his  agitation, 
combed  his  hair  with  less  care  than  usual :  *'  I  pray  you," 
said  the  king,  *'  though  my  head  be  not  long  to  remain  on  my 
shoulders,  take  the  same  pains  with  it  as  usual ;  let  me  be  us 
trim  to-day  as  may  be  ;  this  is  my  second  marriage  day ;  for 
before  night  I  hope  to  be  espoused  to  my  blessed  Jesus."  As 
he  was  dressing,  he  asked  to  have  a  shirt  on  more  than  ordi- 
nary :  "  The  season  is  so  sharp,"  he  said,  "  as  may  make  me 
shake,  which  some  observers  will  imagine  proceeds  from  fear. 
I  would  have  no  such  imputation  ;  I  fear  not  death  ;  death  is 
not  terrible  to  me.  I  bless  my  God  I  am  prepared."  At  day- 
break  the  bishop  arrived  and  commenced  the  holy  service ;  as 
he  was  reading,  in  the  27th  chapter  of  the  gospel  according 
to  St.  Matthew,  the  passion  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  king  asked  him : 
"  My  lord,  did  you  choose  this  chapter  as  being  applicable  to 
my  present  condition  ?"  "  May  it  please  your  majesty,"  said 
the  bishop,  "  it  is  the  proper  lesson  for  the  day,  as  the  calendar 
indicates."  The  king  appeared  deeply  affected,  and  con- 
tinned  his  prayers  with  even  greater  fervor.  Towards  ten, 
a  gentle  knock  was  heard  at  the  door ;  Herbert  did  not  stir  ;  a 
second  knock  was  heard,  rather  louder,  but  still  gentle  :  "  Go 
and  see  who  is  there,"  said  the  king  :  it  was  colonel  Hacker : 
"  Let  him  come  in,"  said  the  king.  *'  Sir,"  said  the  colonel, 
with  a  low  and  half-trembling  voice,  "  it  is  time  to  go  to  White- 
hall ;  but  you  will  have  some  further  time  to  rest  there."  "  I 
will  go  directly,"  answered  Charles  ;  "leave  me."  Hacker 
went  out :   the  king  occupied  a  few  moments  more  in  mental 

•State  Trials,  v.,  1148—1180 ;  Axtell  and  Hacker's  trial. 


prayer ;  then,  taking  the  bishop  by  the  hand :  "  Come,"  said 
he,  "  let  us  go  ;  Herbert,  open  the  door,  Hacker  is  knocking 
again ;"  and  he  went  down  into  the  park,  through  which  he 
was  to  proceed  to  Whitehall. 

Several  companies  of  infantry  were  drawn  up  there,  form- 
ing a  double  line  on  each  side  of  his  way  ;  a  detachment  of 
halberdiers  marched  on  before,  with  banners  flying ;  the 
drums  beat ;  not  a  voice  could  be  heard  for  the  noise.  On  the 
right  of  the  king  was  the  bishop ;  on  the  left,  uncovered, 
colonel  Tomlinson,  the  officer  in  command  of  the  guard, 
whom  Charles,  touched  by  his  attentions,  had  requested  not 
to  leave  him  till  the  last  moment.  He  talked  with  him,  on 
the  way,  of  his  funeral,  of  the  persons  to  whom  he  wished  the 
care  of  it  to  be  entrusted,  his  countenance  serene,  his  eye 
beaming,  his  step  firm,  walking  even  faster  than  the  troops, 
and  blaming  their  slowness.  One  of  the  officers  on  service, 
doubtless  thinking  to  agitate  him,  asked  him  whether  he  had 
not  concurred  with  the  duke  of  Buckingham  in  the  death  of 
the  king  his  father :  "  Friend,"  answered  Charles,  with  gentle 
contempt,  "  if  I  had  no  other  sin,  I  speak  it  with  reverence  id 
God's  majesty,  I  assure  thee  I  should  never  ask  him  pardon."* 
Arrived  at  Whitehall  he  ascended  the  stairs  with  a  light  step, 
passed  through  the  great  gallery  into  his  bed-room,  where  he 
was  lefl  alone  with  the  bishop,  who  was  preparing  to  adminis- 
ter the  sacrament.  Some  independent  ministers,  Nye  and 
Goodwin  among  others,  came  and  knocked  at  the  door,  saying 
that  they  wished  to  offer  their  services  to  the  king  :  "  The  king 
is  at  prayers,"  answered  Juxon  :  they  still  insisted.  "  Well, 
then,"  said  Charles  to  the  bishop,  "  thank  them  from  me  for 
the  tender  of  themselves,  but  tell  them  plainly,  that  they  that 
so  oflen  causelessly  prayed  against  me,  shall  not  pray  with  me 
in  this  agony.  They  may,  if  they  please,  I'll  thank  them  for 
it,  pray  for  me."  They  retired  ;  the  king  knelt,  received  the 
communion  from  the  hands  of  the  bishop,  then  rising  with 
cheerfulness :  "  Now,"  said  he,  "  let  the  rogues  come ;  I  have 
heartily  forgiven  them,  and  am  prepared  for  all  I  am  to  un- 
dergo." His  dinner  had  been  prepared  ;  he  declined  taking 
any  :  "  Sire,"  said  Juxon,  "  your  majesty  has  long  been  fast 
ing ;  it  is  cold  ;  perhaps  on  the  scaffold  some  faintness 


a 


"  You  are  right,"  said  the  king,  and  he  took  a  piece  of  bread 

♦  Warwick,  342. 


454 


HISTORY   OF   THE 


ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


455 


and  a  glass  of  wine.  It  was  now  one  o'clock :  Hacker  knocked 
at  the  door  ;  Juxon  and  Herbert  fell  on  their  knees  :  "  Rise, 
my  old  friend,"  said  Charles,  holding  out  his  hand  to  the 
bishop.  Hacker  knocked  again  ;  Charles  ordered  the  door  to 
be  opened  :  "  Go  on,"  said  he,  "  I  follow  you."  He  advanced 
through  the  banqueting  hall,  still  between  a  double  rank  of 
soldiers ;  a  multitude  of  men  and  women,  who  had  rushed  in 
at  the  peril  of  their  lives,  stood  motionless  behind  the  guard, 
praying  for  the  king  as  he  passed,  uninterrupted  by  the 
soldiers,  themselves  quite  silent.  At  the  extremity  of  the  hall 
an  opening  made  in  the  wall  led' straight  upon  the  scaffold, 
which  was  hung  with  black ;  two  men,  dressed  as  sailors  and 
masked,  stood  by  the  axe.  The  king  stepped  out,  his  head 
erect,  and  looking  around  for  the  people,  to  address  them ;  but 
the  troops  occupied  the  whole  space,  so  that  none  could  ap- 
proach :  he  turned  towards  Juxon  and  Tomlinson  :  "  1  cannot 
be  heard  by  many  but  yourselves,"  he  said,  "  therefore  to  you 
I  will  address  a  few  words  ;"  and  he  delivered  to  them  a  short 
speech  which  he  had  prepared,  grave  and  calm,  even  to  cold- 
ness, its  sole  purport  being  to  show  that  he  had  acted  right, 
that  contempt  of  the  rights  of  the  sovereign  was  the  true  cause 
of  the  people's  misfortunes,  that  the  people  ought  to  have  no 
share  in  the  government,  that  upon  this  condition  alone  would 
the  country  regain  peace  and  its  liberties.  While  he  was 
speaking,  some  one  touched  the  axe ;  he  turned  round  hastily, 
saying,  "  Do  not  spoil  the  axe,  it  would  hurt  me  more  ;"  and 
again,  as  he  was  about  to  conclude  his  address,  some  one  else 
again  approaching  it :  "  Take  care  of  the  axe,  take  care  !"  he 
repeated,  in  an  agitated  tone.  The  most  profound  silence 
prevailed  :  he  put  a  silk  cap  upon  his  head,  and  addressing  the 
executioner,  said  :  "  Is  my  hair  in  the  way  ?"  *'  I  beg  your 
majesty  to  put  it  under  your  cap,"  replied  the  man,  bowing. 
The  king  with  the  help  of  the  bishop,  did  so.  "  I  have  on  my 
side  a  good  cause  and  a  merciful  God  !"  he  said  to  his  venera- 
ble  servant.  Juxon  :  "  Yes,  sire,  there  is  but  one  stage  more  : 
it  is  full  of  trouble  and  anguish,  but  it  is  a  very  short  one  ; 
and  consider,  it  will  carry  you  a  great  way ;  it  will  carry  you 
from  earth  to  heaven  !"  The  king :  "  I  go  from  a  corruptible 
to  an  incorruptible  crown,  where  I  shall  have  no  trouble  to 
fear !"  and,  turning  towards  the  executioner :  "  Is  my  hair 
right  ?"     He  took  off  his  cloak  and  George,  and  gave  the 


George  to  Juxon,  saying  :  <<  Remember."*  He  then  took  off 
his  coat,  put  on  his  cloak  again,  and  looking  at  the  block,  said 
to  the  executioner :  <'  Place  it  so  it  may  be  firm."  "  It  is  firm, 
sir."  The  king  :  "  I  will  say  a  short  prayer,  and  when  I  hold 
out  my  hands,  then  .  .  .  ." 

He  stood  in  meditation,  murmured  a  few  words  to  himself, 
raised  his  eyes  to  heaven,  knelt  down,  and  laid  his  head  upon 
the  block ;  the  executioner  touched  his  hair  to  put  it  still  fur- 
ther  under  his  cap ;  the  king  thought  he  was  going  to  strike. 
"Wait  for  the  signal,"  he  said.  "I  shall  wait  for  it,  sir, 
with  the  good  pleasure  of  your  majesty."  In  a  minute  the 
lung  held  out  his  hands ;  the  executioner  struck ;  the  head 
fell  at  a  blow.  "This  is  the  head  of  a  traitor!"  cried  he, 
holding  it  up  to  the  people ;  a  long  deep  groan  arose  from  the 
multitude  ;  many  persons  rushed  to  the  scaffold  to  dip  their 
handkerchiefs  in  the  king's  blood.  Two  troops  of  horse  ad- 
vancing in  different  directions,  slowly  dispersed  the  crowd. 
The  scaffold  being  cleared,  the  body  was  taken  away :  it  was 
already  enclosed  in  the  coffin  when  Cromwell  desired  to  see 
it ;  he  looked  at  it  attentively,  and,  raising  the  head,  as  if  to 
make  sure  that  it  was  indeed  severed  from  the  body;  "This," 
he  said,  "  was  a  well-constituted  frame,  and  which  promised 
a  long  life."f 

The  coffin  remained  exposed  for  seven  days  at  Whitehall ; 
an  immense  concourse  pressed  round  the  door,  but  few  ob- 
tained leave  to  go  in.  On  the  6th  of  February,  by  order  of 
the  commons,  it  was  delivered  to  Herbert  and  Mildmay,  with 
authority  to  bury  it  in  Windsor  castle,  in  St.  George's  chapel, 
where  Henry  the  Eighth  lies.  The  procession  was  decent, 
though  without  pomp;  six  horses  covered  with  black  cloth 
drew  the  hearse ;  four  coaches  followed,  two  of  which,  also 
hung  with  black  cloth,  conveyed  the  king's  latest  servants, 
those  who  had  followed  him  to  the  Isle  of  Wight.  Next  day, 
the  8th,  with  the  consent  of  the  commons,  the  duke  of  Rich- 
mond, the  Marquis  of  Hertford,  the  earls  of  Southampton  and 
Lindsey,  and  bishop  Juxon,  arrived  at  Windsor,  to  assist  at  the 
funeral ;  they  had  engraved  on  the  coffin  these  words  only  : — 

CHARLES,  REX, 
1648.$ 

•  It  was  never  known  to  what  the  king  alluded.        f  Noble,  i.,  118. 
t  Old  Style.     The  English  year,  not  being  as  yet  regulated  by  the 


I 


456 


HISTORY  OF    THE    ENGLISH    REVOLUTION. 


As  they  were  removing  the  body  from  the  interior  of  the 
castle  to  the  chapel,  the  weather,  hitherto  clear  and  serene, 
changed  all  at  once  :  snow  fell  in  abundance  ;  it  entirely  cov- 
ered  the  black  velvet  pall,  and  the  king's  servants,  with  a 
melancholy  satisfaction,  viewed  in  this  sudden  whiteness  of 
their  unhappy  master's   coffin,   a   symbol   of  his   innocence. 
On  the  arrival  of  the  procession  at  the  place  selected  for  se- 
pulture, bishop  Juxon  was  preparing  to  officiate  according  to 
the  rites  of  the  English  church,  but  Whychcott,  the  governor 
of  the  castle,  would  not  permit  this :    "  The  liturgy  decreed 
by  parliament,"  he  said,  "  is  obligatory  for  the  king  as  for  all." 
They  submitted ;  no  religious  ceremony  took  place,  and  the 
coffin  being  lowered  into  the  vault,  all  left  the  chapel,  and  the 
governor  closed  the  door.     The  house  of  commons  called  for 
an  account  of  the  expense  of  the  obsequies,  and  allowed  five 
hundred  pounds  to  pay  for  them.     On  the  day  of  the  king's 
death,  before  any  express  had  left  London,  they  published  an 
ordinance,  declaring  whomsoever  should  proclaim  in  his  stead 
and  as  his  successor  "  Charles  Stuart  his  son,  commonly  call- 
ed prince  of  Wales,  or  any  person  whatsoever,   a  traitor."* 
On  the  6th   February,  afler  a  long  discussion,  and  notwith- 
standing a  division  of  twenty-nine  to  forty-four,  the  house  of 
lords  was  solemnly  abolished.f     Finally,  the  next  day,  the 
7th,  a  decree  was  adopted,  running  thus  :  "  It  hath  been  found 
by  experience,  and  this  house  doth  declare,  that  the  office  of 
a  king,  in  this  nation,  and  to  have  the  power  thereof  in  any 
single  person,  is  unnecessary,  burthensome,  and  dangerous  to 
the  liberty,  safety,  and  public  interest  of  the  people  of  this  na- 
tion,  and  therefore  ought  to  be  abolished  ;":j:  and  a  new  great 
seal  was  engraved,§  bearing  on  one  side  a  map  of  England 
and  Ireland,  with  the  arms  of  the  two  countries ;  and  on  the 
reverse,   a  representation  of  the   house  of  commons  sittinir, 
with  this  inscription,  suggested  by  Henry  Martyn  :  "  The  first 
\  year  of  liberty  restored  by  the  blessing  of  God,  1648." 

Gregorian  Calendar,  then  began  on  the  24th  of  March  ;  January  30th, 
1648,  the  day  of  Charles's  death,  corresponds  with  our  9th  of  Februa- 
ry   1649 

*  Pari'.  Hist.,  iii.,  1281.  f  fb.,  1284.  J  lb.,  12S5. 

§  The  order  was  given  as  early  as  the  9th  of  February;  Pari.  Hist, 
lii.,  1258. 


APPENDIX 


/ 


or 


ILLUSTRATIONS  AND  HISTORICAL  DOCUMENTS. 


)' 


CONTENTS  OF  THE  APPENDIX. 


v\ 


I.  Symptoms  of  the  spirit  of  opposition  and  liberty  in  the  reign  of 

Elizabeth. 
II.  Writing  found  in  the  hat  of  Felton,  the  assassin  of  the  Duke  of 
Buckingham. 

III.  Character  of  the  administration  of  Strafford  in  Ireland. 

IV.  Fines  imposed  for  the  benefit  of  the  crown,  from  1629  to  1640. 
V.  Instructions  from  the  king  to  the  marquis  of  Hamilton  respect- 
ing the  synod  of  Glasgow,  in  1638. 

VI.  Composition  of  the  army  raised  by  the  parliament  in  1642. 
VII.  Employment  of  catholics  in  the  royal  army. 
VIII.  Petition  against  peace  from  the  common  council  to  the  house  of 
commons,  presented  August  7,  1643. 
IX.  Petition  in  favor  of  peace,  from  the  women  of  London,  pre- 
sented August  9,4643. 
X.  Declaration  and  justification  of  John  Pym. 
XI.  Letter  from  the  king  to  prince  Rupert,  ordering  him  to  relieve 

York. 
XII.  The  self-denying  ordinance,  adopted  April  3,  1643. 

XIII.  Extract  from  the  minutes  of  the  council  held  at  Oxford,  Dec.  5, 

1644. 

XIV.  Cavalier  songs  against  David  Lesley  and  the  Scottish  troops  re- 

called from  England  to  the  assistance  of  the  Scottish  pres- 
byterians,  who  had  been  defeated  by  Montrose. 
XV.  Inedited  documents  and  despatches  relative  to  the  extraordinary 
embassy  sent  to  London,  January,  1649,  from  the  States- 
general  of  the  United  Provinces,  to  intercede  with  the 
'  parliament  in  favor  of  Charles  the  First.  (Taken  from  the 
archives  of  the  Hague.) 


ENGLISH   REVOLUTION. 


459 


f^ 


APPENDIX 


OF 


ELUCIDATIONS  AND  HISTORICAL  DOCUMENTS. 


I. 

Symptoms  of  the  Spirit  of  Opposition  and  Liberty  in  the  reisn 

of  Elizabeth.  * 

Ix  the  month  of  November,  1575,  Mr.  Peter  Wentworth,  a  member  of 
leL  or?hf  h''"'"'""^'  having  made  a  speech  in  defence  of  thfprivf 
ten    '^^^"«^>  ^^^  especially  that  of  liberty  of  speech,  was  arrested 
ll  whf.h''^^^'  '^"^'^'  ""^  underwent  before  a  committee 'of  fhe  house 
on  which  sat  several  privy  councillors,  the  following  examination   a 

ff  "irVTi^'^^^^^^'P^"^?^  independence  which  began  tTmSes? 
Itself  at  this  time,  and  of  the  approbation  which  the  ve7v  men 
entrusted  with  the  task  of  repressin'g'it,  felt  themselves  corpeUed  to 

inwS^^r"'^^'  W^^^^  ^«  y«"r  late  speech  you  promised  to  deliver 

Wekttworth.  Here  it  is,  and  I  deliver  it  upon  two  conditions  •  first 
Wiat  you  shall  peruse  it  all,  and  if  you  can  find^any  want  of  good  will  to 

uttered  all  The  second  is.  that  you  shall  deliver  it  unto  the  queen's 
majesty ;  if  her.  majesty,  or  you  of  her  privy  council,  can  find  any  want 
of  love  to  her  majesty  or  the  state  therein,  also  let  me  answer  it 

housT^'"^^^*^'  ^^  ^'^^^  ^^^^  ^'^^  ^^  ^°^^  ^^^"  ^^"  uttered  in  the 

tv^fn^T'^^'''^"^  XT  u°"'''''  ^^'''^''^  '^^"^^  t«  ^^^^^^^  it  to  her  majes- 
Z\UA  i  ^^^  l^  *°  her  majesty  as  my  heart  and  mind,  knowing  it 
will  do  her  majesty  good  ;  it  will  hurt  no  one  but  myself.  ^ 

Committee    Seeing  your  desire  is  to  have  us  deliver  it  to  her  ma- 
jesty, we  will  deliver  it. 

Wextworth.  I  humbly  require  your  honors  to  do  so. 
[  1  hen,  the  speech  being  read,  they  went  on  :] 

Committee.  Here  you  have  uttered  certain  rumors  of  the  queen's 
majesty  :  where  and  when  heard  you  them .?  ^ 


1    ^ 


Pi 


460 


APPENDIX. 


Wentworth  If  your  honors  ask  me  as  councillors  to  her  majesty, 
you  shall  pardon  me— I  will  make  you  no  answer.  I  will  do  no  such 
injury  to  the  place  from  whence  I  came,  for  I  am  now  no  private  per- 
son, I  am  a  public,  and  a  councillor  to  the  whole  state  in  that  place, 
where  it  is  lawful  for  me  to  speak  my  mind  freely  ;  and  not  for  you,  as 
councillors,  to  call  me  to  account  for  anything  that  I  do  speak  m  the 
house  ;  and  therefore  if  you  ask  me  as  councillors  to  her  majesty,  you 
shall  pardon  me,  I  will  make  no  answer  ;  but  if  you  ask  me  as  commit- 
tees from  the  house,  I  will  make  you  the  best  answer  I  can. 

Committee.  We  ask  you  as  a  committee  from  the  house. 

Wentworth.  I  will  then  answer  you  ;  and  the  willinger  for  that 
mine  answer  will  be  in  some  part  so  imperfect,  as  of  necessity  it  must 
be  Your  question  consisteth  of  these  two  points  ;  where  and  of  whom 
I  heard  these  rumors.  The  place  where  I  heard  them  was  the  parlia- 
ment house  ;  but  of  whom,  I  assure  you,  I  cannot  tell. 

Committee.  This  is  no  answer,  to  say  you  cannot  tell  of  whom, 
neither  will  we  take  it  for  any.  ,      •    ^ 

Wentworth.  Truly  your  honors  must  needs  take  it  for  an  answer, 
when  I  can  make  you  no  better.  ,        •      i     * 

Committee.   Belike  you  have  heard  some  speeches,  m  the  town,  ol 
her  majesty's  misliking  of  religion  and  succession ;  you  are  loth  to  utter 
of  whom,  and  did  use  speeches  thereupon. 

Wentworth.  I  can  assure  your  honors,  I  can  show  you  that  speech 
at  my  own  house,  written  with  my  hand  two  or  three  years  ago.  So 
that  you  may  thereby  judge,  that  I  did  not  speak  it  of  anything  that  I 
heard  since  I  came  to  town. 

Committee.   You  have  answered  that,   but  where  heard   you  it, 

then  ?  ,    /.  ,     1      1  4. 

Wentworth.  If  your  honors  do  think  I  speak  for  excuse  sake,  let 
this  satisfy  you  :  I  protest  before  the  living  God,  I  cannot  tell  of  whom 
I  heard  these  rumors  ;  yet  I  do  verily  think  that  I  heard  them  of  a 
hundred  or  two  in  the  house. 

C0MM1.TTEE.   Then  of  so  many  you  can  name  some  ? 

Wentworth.  No,  surely,  because  it  was  so  general  a  speech,  I 
marked  none ;  neither  do  men  mark  speakers  commonly  when  they  be 
general;  and  1  assure  you,  if  I  could  tell,  I  would  not.  For  I  will 
never  utter  anything  told  me,  to  the  hurt  of  any  man,  when  I  am 
not  enforced  thereunto,  as  in  this  cas6  I  /nay  choose.  Yet  I  would 
deal  plainly  with  you,  for  I  would  tell  your  honors  so,  and  if  your  honors 
do  not  credit  me,  I  will  voluntarily  take  an  oath,  if  you  offer  me  a  book, 
that  I  cannot  tell  of  whom  I  heard  those  rumors.  But  if  you  offer  me 
an  oath  of  your  authorities,  I  will  refuse  it ;  because  I  will  do  nothing 
to  infringe'the  liberties  of  the  house.  But  what  need  I  to  use  these 
speeches  ?  I  will  give  you  an  instance,  whereupon  I  heard  these  ru- 
mors, to  your  satisfying,  even  such  a  one  as,  if  you  will  speak  the  truth, 
you  shall  confess  you  heard  the  same  as  well  as  I. 

Committee.   In  so  doing,  we  will  be  satisfied  :  what  is  that . 

Wentworth.  The  last  parliament  [13th  Eliz.],  he  that  is  now 
speaker  [Robert  Bell,  Esq.],  and  who  was  also  speaker  in  the  first  ses- 
sion of  the  present  parliament  [14th  Eliz.],  uttered  a  very  good  speech 
for  the  calling  in  of  certain  licenses  granted  to  four  courtiers  to  the 


APPENDIX. 


461 


utter  undoing  of  6000  or  8000  of  the  queen's  subjects.  This  speech 
was  so  disliked  by  some  of  the  council,  that  he  was  sent  for ;  and  so 
hardly  dealt  with,  that  he  came  into  the  house  with  such  an  amazed 
countenance,  that  it  daunted  all  the  house  in  such  sort  that  for  ten, 
twelve,  or  sixteen  days,  there  was  not  one  in  the  house  that  durst  deal 
in  any  matter  of  importance.  And  in  those  simple  matters  that  they 
dealt'in,  they  spent  more  words  and  time  in  their  preamble,  requiring 
that  they  might  not  be  mistaken,  than  they  did  in  the  matter  they  spake 
unto.  This  inconvenience  grew  unto  the  house  by  the  council's  hard 
handling  of  the  same  good  member,  whereon  this  rumor  grew  in  the 
house  :  "  Sirs,  you  may  not  speak  against  licenses,  the  queen's  majesty 
will  be  angry,  the  privy  council,  too,  will  be  angry  ;"  and  this  rumor  I 
suppose  there  is  not  one  of  you  here,  but  heard  it  as  well  as  I.  I  be- 
seech your  honors  discharge  your  consciences  herein  as  I  do. 

Committee.  We  heard  it,  we  confess,  and  you  have  satisfied  us  in 
this ;  but  how  say  you  to  the  hard  interpretation  you  made  of  the  mes- 
sage that  was  sent  into  the  house.  [The  words  were  recited.]  We 
aj3ure  you  we  never  heard  a  harder  interpretation  of  a  message. 

Wentworth.  I  beseech  your  honors  first,  was  there  not  such  a  mes- 
sage sent  into  the  house  ? 

Committee.  We  grant  that  there  was. 

Wentworth.  Then  I  trust  you  will  bear  me  record  that  I  made  it 
not ;  and  I  answer  for  that,  so  hard  a  message  could  not  have  too  hard 
an  interposition  made  by  the  wisest  man  in  England.  For  can  there, 
by  any  possible  means,  be  sent  a  harder  message  to  a  council  gathered 
together  to  serve  God,  than  to  say  :  "  You  shall  not  seek  to  advance  the 
glory  of  God  !"  I  am  of  this  opinion  ;  that  there  cannot  be  a  more 
wicked  message  than  it  was. 

Committee.  You  may  not  speak  against  messages,  for  none  sendeth 
them  but  the  queen's  majesty. 

Wentworth.  If  the  message  be  against 'the  ^lory  of  God,  against 
the  prince's  safety,  or  against  the  liberty  of  this  parliament  house, 
whereby  the  state  is  maintained,  I  neither  may  nor  will  hold  my  peace. 
I  cannot,  in  so  doing,  discharge  my  conscience,  whosoever  doth  send  it. 
And  I  say,  that  I  heartily  repent  me,  for  that  I  have  hitherto  held  my 
peace  in  these  causes  ;  and  I  do  promise  you  all,  if  God  forsake  me  not, 
that  I  will  never,  during  life,  hold  my  tongue  if  any  message  is  sent 
wherein  God  is  dishonored,  the  prince  reviled,  or  the  liberties  of  the 
parliament  impeached  ;  and  every  one  of  you  here  present  ought  to 
repent  you  of  these  faults,  and  to  amend  them. 

Committee.  It  is  no  new  precedent  to  have  the  prince  to  send  mes- 
sao-es.  [There  were  two  or  three  messages  recited  sent  by  two  or  three 
princes.] 

Wentworth.  Sirs,  I  say  you  do  very  ill  to  allege  precedents  m  this 
order.  You  ought  to  allege  good  precedents,  to  comfort  and  embolden 
men  in  good  doings,  and  not  evil  precedents  to  discourage  and  terrify 

men  to  do  evil. 

Committee.  But  what  meant  you  to  make  so  hard  interpretation  of 

messages  ?  1  •       v  • 

Wentworth.  Surely,  I  marvel  what  you  mean  by  asking  this  ques- 
tion.    Have  I  not  said,  so  hard  a  message  could  not  have  too  hard  an 

39* 


r 


462 


APPENDIX. 


f 


interpretation  ?  And  have  I  not  set  down  the  reason  that  moved  me  in 
my  speech — that  is  to  say,  that  for  the  receiving  and  accepting  that 
message,  God  has  passed  so  great  indignation  upon  us,  that  he  put  into 
the  queen's  heart  to  refuse  good  and  wholesome  laws  for  her  own  pre- 
servation, which  caused  many  loving  and  faithful  hearts  for  grief  to 
burst  out  with  sorrowful  tears ;  and  moved  all  papists,  traitors  to  God, 
to  her  majesty,  and  to  every  good  Christian  government,  in  their  sleeves 
to  laugh  the  whole  parliament  house  to  scorn.  Have  I  not  thus  said, 
and  do  not  your  honors  think  it  so  ? 

Committee.  Yes,  truly.  But  how  durst  you  say,  that  the  queen 
had  unkindly  abused  herself  against  the  nobility  and  people  ? 

Wentworth.  I  beseech  your  honors,  tell  me  how  far  you  can  stretch 
these  words,  of  her  unkindly  abusing  and  opposing  herself  against  her 
majesty's  nobility  and  people  ?  Can  you  apply  them  any  further  than 
I  have  applied  them — that  is  to  say,  in  that  her  majesty  called  the  par- 
liament on  purpose  to  prevent  traitorous  perils  to  her  person,  and  for 
no  other  cause  ;  and  in  that  her  majesty  did  send  unto  us  two  bills, 
willing  us  to  take  our  choice  of  that  we  liked  best  for  her  majesty's 
safety,  and  thereof  to  make  a  law,  promising  her  royal  consent  there- 
unto ;  and  did  we  not  first  choose  the  one,  and  her  majesty  refused  it  ? 
Yet  did  not  we,  nevertheless,  receive  the  other  ?  and  agreeing  to  make 
a  law  thereof,  did  not  her  majesty  in  the  end  refuse  all  our  travails  ? 
And  did  not  the  lord  keeper,  in  her  majesty's  presence,  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  parliament,  show  this  to  be  the  occasion  that  we  were 
called  together  ?  And  did  not  her  majesty,  in  the  end  of  the  parlia- 
ment, refuse  all  our  travails  ?  Is  not  this  known  to  all  here  present, 
and  to  all  the  parliament  house  also  ?  I  beseech  your  honors  discharge 
your  consciences  herein,  and  utter  your  knowledge  simply  as  I  do;  for, 
in  truth,  herein  did  her  majesty  abuse  her  nobility  and  subjects,  and  did 
oppose  herself  against  them  by  the  way  of  advice. 

Committee.  Surely,  \0t  cannot  deny  it ;  you  say  the  truth, 

Wentworth.  Then,  I  beseech  your  honors,  show  me  if  it  were 
not  a  dangerous  doing  to  her  majesty  in  these  two  respects  :  first,  in 
weakening,  wounding,  and  discouraging  the  hearts  of  her  majesty's 
loving  and  faithful  subjects,  thereby  to  make  them  the  less  able,  or  the 
more  fearful  and  unwilling,  to  serve  her  majesty  another  time  ?  On 
the  other  side,  was  it  not  a  raising  up  and  encouraging  the  hearts  of  her 
majesty's  hateful  enemies  to  adventure  any  desperate  enterprise  to  her 
majesty's  peril  and  danger  .' 

Committee.  We  cannot  deny  but  that  it  was  very  dangerous  to  her 
majesty  in  these  respects. 

Wentworth.  Then,  why  do  your  honors  ask,  how  I  dare  tell  a 
truth,  to  give  the  queen  warning  to  avoid  her  danger  ?  I  answer  you 
thus :  I  do  thank  the  Lord  my  God  that  I  never  found  fear  in  myself  to 
give  the  queen's  majesty  warning  to  avoid  her  danger  ;  be  you  all  afraid 
thereof,  if  you  will,  for  I  praise  God  I  am  not,  and  I  hope  never  to  live 
to  see  that  day  ;  and  yet  I  will  assure  your  honors,  that  twenty  times 
and  more,  when  I  walked  in  my  grounds,  revolving  this  speech,  to 
prepare  against  this  day,  my  own  fearful  conceit  did  say  unto  me,  that 
this  speech  would  carry  me  to  the  place  whither  I  shall  now  go,  and 
fear  would  have  moved  me  to  put  it  out ;  when  I  weighed,  whether  in 


APPENDIX. 


463 


good  conscience,  and  the  duty  of  a  faithful  subject,  I  might  keep  my- 
self out  of  prison  and  not  warn  my  prince  of  walking  in  a  dangerous 
course,  my  conscience  said  unto  me,  that  I  could  not  be  a  faithful  sub- 
ject if  I  had  more  respect  to  avoid  my  own  danger  than  my  prince's 
danger.  Therewithal  I  was  made  bold,  and  went  forward,  as  your 
honors  heard ;  yet  when  I  uttered  those  words  in  the  house,  that  there 
was  none  without  fault,  no,  not  our  noble  queen,  I  paused,  and  beheld 
all  your  countenances,  and  saw  plainly  that  those  words  did  amaze  you 
all ;  then  I  was  afraid  with  you  for  company,  and  fear  bade  me  to  put 
out  those  words  that  followed,  for  your  countenances  did  assure  me, 
that  not  one  of  you  would  stay  me  of  my  journey ;  yet  the  considera- 
tion of  a  good  conscience,  and  of  a  faithful  subject,  did  make  me  bold 
to  utter  it  in  such  sort  as  your  honors  heard.  With  this  heart  and 
mind  I  spake  it;  and  I  praise  God  for  it;  and  if  it  were  to  do  again,  I 
would,  with  the  same  mind,  speak  it  again. 

Committee.  Yea,  but  you  might  have  uttered  it  in  better  terms : 
why  did  you  not  so  ? 

Wentworth.  Would  you  have  me  to  have  done  as  you  of  her  ma- 
jesty's council  do,  to  utter  a  weighty  matter  in  such  terms  as  she  should 
not  have  understood  ?  To  have  made  a  fault  then,  it  would  have  done 
her  majesty  no  good,  and  my  interest  was  to  do  her  good. 

Committee.  You  have  answered  us. 

Wentworth.  Then  I  praise  God  for  it. 

And  he  bowed. 

Mr.  Seckford.  Mr.  Wentworth  will  never  acknowledge  himself  to 
make  a  fault,  nor  say  that  he  is  sorry  for  anything  he  doth  speak.  You 
shall  hear  none  of  these  things  come  out  of  his  mouth. 

Wentworth.  Mr.  Seckford,  I  will  never  acknowledge  that  to  be  a 
fault  to  love  the  queen's  majesty  while  I  live ;  neither  will  I  be  sorry 
for  giving  her  majesty  warning  to  avoid  danger,  while  the  breath  is  in 
my  body.  If  you  do  think  it  a  fault  to  love  her  majesty,  or  to  be  sorry 
that  her  majesty  should  have  warning  to  avoid  her  danger,  say  so,  for  I 
cannot;  speak  for  yourself,  Mr.  Seckford. — Pari.  Hist.,  i.,  794-7. 


II. 

Paper  found  in  the  hat  of  Felton^  the  murderer  of  the 
Duke  of  Buckingham. 

The  original  writing  still  exists  ;  and  Mr.  Lingard  published  it  ver- 
batim in  his  History.     It  is  as  follows : — 

"  That  man  is  Cowardly  base,  and  deserveth  not  the  name  of  a  gen- 
tleman or  Souldier  that  is  not  willinge  to  sacrifice  his  life  for  the  honor 
of  his  God,  his  King,  and  his  Countrie.  Lett  noe  man  commend  me 
for  doeinge  of 'it,  but  rather  discommend  themselves  as  the  cause  of  it ; 
for  if  God  had  not  taken  ovr  harts  for  ovr  sinnes,  he  wd  not  have  gone 
so  long  vnpunished." 

"  Jo.  Felton." 
— Lingard's  History  of  England,  ix.,  394. 


464 


APPENDIX. 


III. 
Character  of  Lord  Strafford's  Administration  in  Ireland. 

The  letter,  from  which  the  following  extract  is  taken,  addressed  by 
Strafford  to  his  intimate  friend,  sir  Christopher  Wandesford,  master  of 
the  rolls  in  Ireland,  gives  an  account  of  the  manner  in  which  he  had 
answered  to  the  king  and  council  the  charges  which  had  been  brought 
against  him : — 

"  I  then  craved  admission  to  justify  myself  in  some  particulars 
wherein  I  had  been  very  undeservedly  and  bloodily  traduced. 

"  So  I  related  to  them  all  that  had  passed  betwixt  myself,  earl  of  St. 
Albans,  Wilmot,  Mountnorris,  Piers  Crosby,  and  the  jury  of  Galway, 
that  hereupon  touching  and  rubbing  in  the  course  of  my  decree  upon 
their  particulars,  themselves  and  friends  have  endeavored  to  possess  the 
world  I  was  a  severe  and  an  austere,  hard  conditioned  man — rather,  in- 
deed, a  bashaw  of  Buda  than  the  minister  of  a  pious  and  Christian  king. 
Howbeit,  if  I  were  not  much  mistaken  in  myself,  it  was  quite  the  con- 
trary ;  no  man  could  show  wherein  I  had  expressed  it  in  my  nature,  no 
friend  I  had  would  charge  me  with  it  in  my  private  conversation,  no 
creature  had  found  it  in  the  managing  of  my  own  private  affairs,  so  as 
if  I  stood  clear  in  all  these  respects,  it  was  to  be  confessed  by  any  equal 
mind,  that  it  was  not  anything  within,  but  the  necessity  of  his  majesty's 
service,  which  forced  me  into  a  seeming  strictness  outwardly.  And  that 
was  the  reason,  indeed  ;  for  where  I  found  a  Crown,  a  Church,  and  a 
people  spoiled,  I  could  not  imagine  to  redeem  them  from  under  the 
pressure  with  gracious  smiles  and  gentle  looks ;  it  would  cost  warmer 
water  than  so.  True  it  was,  that  where  a  dominion  was  once  gotten 
and  sealed,  it  might  be  stayed  and  kept  where  it  was  by  soft  and  mode- 
rate counsels ;  but  where  a  sovereignty  (be  it  spoken  with  reverence) 
was  going  down  the  hill,  the  nature  of  a  man  did  so  easily  slide  into  the 
paths  of  an  uncontrolled  liberty,  as  it  would  not  be  brought  back  with- 
out strength,  nor  be  forced  up  the  hill  again  but  by  vigor  and  force. 
And  true  it  was  indeed,  I  knew  no  other  rule  to  govern  by,  but  by  re- 
ward and  punishment ;  and  I  must  profess,  that  where  I  found  a  person 
well  and  entirely  set  for  the  service  of  my  master,  I  should  lay  my  hand 
under  his  foot,  and  add  to  his  respect  and  power  all  I  might ;  and  that 
where  I  found  the  contrary,  I  snould  not  dandle  him  in  my  arms,  or 
soothe  him  in  his  untoward  humor,  but  if  he  came  in  my  reach,  so  far 
as  honor  and  justice  would  warrant  me,  I  must  knock  him  soundly  over 
the  knuckles ;  but  no  sooner  he  became  a  new  man,  apply  himself  as  he 
ought  to  the  government,  but  I  also  change  my  temper,  and  express 
myself  to  him,  as  to  that  other,  by  all  the  good  offices  I  could  do  him. 
If  this  be  sharpness,  and  this  be  severity,  I  desired  to  be  better  in- 
structed by  his  majesty  and  their  lordships,  for,  in  truth,  it  did  not  seem 
so  to  me  ;  however,  if  I  were  once  told  that  his  majesty  liked  not  to  be 
thus  served,  I  would  readily  conform  myself,  and  follow  the  bent  and 
current  of  my  own  disposition,  which  is  to  be  quiet,  not  to  have  debates 
and  disputes  with  any. 

*'  Here  his  majesty  interrupted  me,  and  said,  that  was  severity ; 
wished  me  to  go  on  in  that  way,  for  if  I  served  him  otherwise,  I  should 
not  serve  him  as  he  expected  from  me." — Strafford's  Letters  and  De- 
spatches, ii.,  20. 


APPENDIX. 


465 


2. 
3. 

4. 

5. 
6. 
7. 
8. 
9. 
10. 

11. 
12. 

13. 


14. 
15. 
16. 

17. 
18. 

19. 
20. 

21. 
22. 
23. 
24. 
25. 
26. 

27. 
28. 
29. 

30. 
31. 
32. 


IV. 
Fines  imposed  for  the  profit  of  the  Crown  from  1629  to  1640. 
Richard  Chambers,  for  having  refused  to  pay  custom  duties 

not  voted  by  parliament,  fined i/2,000 

Hilly ard,  for  having  sold  saltpetre 

Goodenough,  for  the  same  cause        -         -         -         .',.,' 
Sir  James  Maleverer,  for  not  having  compounded  with  the 

king's  commissioners  for  the  title  of  knighthood   - 
The  earl  of  Salisbury,  for  encroachments  on  the  royal  forests 

The  earl  of  Westmoreland,  idem. 

Lord  Newport,  idem.        ------- 

Sir  Christopher  Hatton,  idem. 

Sir  Lewis  Watson,  idem.  -         -         "      ,,'      ^" 

Sir  Anthony  Cooper,  for  having  changed  arable  into  grass 

land  --         --, 

Alexander  Leigh  ton,  for  a  libel         -         -         '     ^  \  ■     a 
Henry  Sherfield,  for  having  broken  some  panes  of  stained 
glass  in  Salisbury  Cathedral          -         -        -         "  ,     ' 
John  Overman,  and  several  other  soap-makers,  for  not  hay- 
ing followed  the  king's  orders  in  the  fabrication  and  sale 
of  soap, ---- 

John  Rea        -         -        -         '.,".'         "*  j    'i^    " 
Peter  Hern  and  several  others,  for  having  exported  gold    - 
Sir  David  Foulis  and  his  son,  for  having  spoken  disrespect- 
fully of  the  northern  court 

Pry nne,  for  a  libel  -         -         ",  ^  "       ,'.     I'x    u" 

Buckner,  censor,  for  having  allowed  Prynne  s  book  to  be 

Mi?hael%parkes,  printer,  for  having  printed  the  said  book 
Alison   and  Robins,  for  having  spoken  ill  of  archbishop 

Laud 

Bastwick,  for  a  libel        -         -        "         ' 
Prynne,  Burton,  and  Bastwick,  for  libels  .         .         - 

Prynne's  servant,  for  the  same  cause        .         -         -         - 
Bowyer,  for  having  spoken  against  Laud  ',         '         ' 

Yeomans  and  Wright,  for  dying  silks  improperly      -         - 
Savage,  Weldon,  and  Burton,  for  having  spoken  ill  of  lord 

Falkland,  lord-lieutenant  of  Ireland      -         " 
Grenville,  for  speaking  ill  of  the  earl  of  Suffolk 
Favers  idem.  ------- 

Morley,  for  having  abused  and  struck  sir  George  Theobald, 
within  the  precinct  of  the  court  -        -         -        - 

Williams,  bishop  of  Lincoln,  for  having  spoken  ill  of  Laud 
Bernard,  for  having  preached  against  the  use  of  the  crucifix 
Smart,  for  having  preached  against  the  ecclesiastical  inno- 
vations of  Dr.  Cozens,  &c. 


5,000 
1,000 

2,000 
20,000 
19,000 

3,000 
12,000 

4,000 

4,000 
10,000 

500 


13,000 
2,000 
8,100 

5,500 
5,000 

50 
500 

2,000 
1,000 
15,000 
1,000 
3,000 
5,000 

3,500 
4,000 
1,000 

10,000 

10,000 

1,000 

500 


1^ 


£  173,650 
This  list  is  far  from  being  complete ;  you  may  find  a  multitude  of 
other  causes,  amounting  to  a  considerable  sum,  in  Rushworth,  vols.  i. 
and  ii. 


i 


466 


APPENDIX. 


V. 

Instructions  sent  by  the  King  to  the  Marquis  of  Hamilton,  for  the 
holding  of  the  Synod  at  Glasgow,  in  1638. 

**  And  as  for  this  general  assembly,  though  I  can  expect  no  good  from 
it,  yet  I  hope  you  may  hinder  much  of  the  ill ;  first,  by  putting  divisions 
among  them,  concerning  the  legality  of  their  elections,  then  by  protes- 
tations against  their  tumultuous  proceedings." 
And  elsewhere  : 

"  As  for  the  opinions  of  the  clergy  to  prorogue  this  assembly,  I  ut- 
terly dislike  them,  for  I  should  more  hurt  my  reputation  by  not  keeping 
it,  than  their  mad  acts  can  prejudice mv service;  wherefore  I  command 
you  hold  your  day  ;  but,  as  you  write,  if  you  can  break  them  by  proving 

nullities  in  their  proceedings,  nothing  better."— Burnet,  Memoirs  of  the 
Hamiltons  (1677),  82,  88. 


VI. 

Composition  of  the  Army  raised  by  Parliament  in  1642.* 

General-in-chief:  Robert  Devereux,  earl  of  Essex. 
Major-general  (or,   as  that  office  was  then  called,  Serjeant  iriajor- 
general),  sir  John  Merrick. 

General  of  artillery:  John  Mordaunt,  earl  of  Peterborough.! 

Colonels  of  Infantry  Regiments. 


The  earl  of  Essex. 
The  earl  of  Peterborough. 
Henry  Gray,  earl  of  Stamford. 
William  Fiennes,  viscount  Say. 
Edward  Montague,  viscount  Man- 

deville.J 
John  Carey,  viscount  Rochford.§ 
Oliver  St.  John,  viscount  St.  John. 
Robert  Greville,  lord  Brook. 
John  Roberts,  lord  Roberts. 
Philip  Wharton,  lord  Wharton. 


John  Hampden. 
Denzil  Holies. 
Sir  John  Merrick. 
Sir  Henry  Cholmondley. 
Sir  William  Constable. 
Sir  William  Fairfax.  || 
Charles  Essex. 
Thomas  Grantham. 
Thomas  Ballard. 
William  Bampfield. 


*  From  a  pamphlet  published  in  London  in  1642,  and  entitled  **  The 
List  of  the  Army  raised  under  the  command  of  his  excellency  Robert 
earl  of  Essex." 

t  On  the  death  of  the  earl  of  Peterborough,  sir  John  Merrick  became 
general  of  the  artillery,  and  Philip  Skippon  was  appointed  major- 
general. 

X  Lord  Manchester,  known  also  by  the  name  of  baron  Kimbolton. 
'  Also  called  lord  Hunsdon. 
A  cousin  of  the  celebrated  sir  Thomas  Fairfax. 


+ 

t 


APPENDIX. 


467 


Colonels  of  Troops  of  Horse* 


The  earl  of  Essex. 
The  earl  of  Bedford. 
The  earl  of  Peterborough. 
The  earl  of  Stamford. 
Viscount  Say. 

Viscount  St.  John. 

Basil  Fielding,  viscount  Fielding,  f 

Lord  Brook. 

Lord  Wharton. 

William  Willoughby,  lord  Wil- 
loughby  of  Parham. 

Ferdinand  Hastings,  lord  Hast- 
ings. 

Thomas    Grey,    lord    Grey    of 
Groby. 

Sir  William  Balfour, 

Sir  William  Waller. 

Sir  Arthur  Haslerig. 

Sir  Walter  Earl. 

Sir  Faithful  Fortescue.       *" 

Nathaniel  Fiennes. 

Francis  Fiennes. 

John  Fiennes. 

Oliver  Cromwell. 

Valentine  Wharton. 

Henry  Ireton. 

Arthur  Goodwin. 

John  Dalbier. 

Adrian  Scrope. 

Thomas  Hatcher. 

John  Hotham. 

Edward  Berry. 

Sir  Robert  Pye. 

Sir  William  Wray. 

Sir  John  Saunders. 

John  Alured. 

Edwin  Sandys 

John  Hammond. 

Thomas  Hammond 


Alexander  Pym. 
Anthony  Mildmay. 
Henry  Mildmay. 
James  Temple. 
Thomas  Temple. 
Arthur  Evelyn. 
Robert  Vivers. 
Hercules  Langrish. 
William  Pretty. 
William  Pretty. 
James  Sheffield. 
John  Gunter. 
Robert  Burrel. 
Francis  Dowit. 
John  Bird. 
Matthew  Drapper. 
Matthew  Dimock. 

Horace  Carey. 
John  Neal. 
Edward  Ayscough. 
George  Thompson. 
Francis  Thompson. 

Edward  Keightly. 

Alexander  Douglas. 

Thomas  Lidcot. 

John  Fleming. 

Richard  Grenville. 

Thomas  Terril. 

John  Hale. 

William  Balfour. 

George  Austin, 

Edward  Wingate. 

Edward  Baynton. 

Charles  Chichester. 

Walter  Long. 

Edmund  West. 

William  Anselm. 

Robert  Kirle. 

Simon  Rudgeley. 


*  In  the  writings  of  the  period  they  are  often  called  captains, 
t  Sometimes  also  called  lord  Newnham ;  he  was  the  son  of  the  earl 
of  Denbigh,  and  on  his  death  (April,  1643)  assumed  the  title. 


468 


APPENDIX. 


VIL 
Employment  of  Catholics  in  the  Kin^a  Armies. 

So  early  as  Sept.  ^3,  1642 — that  is  to  say,  at  the  very  moment  of  the 
breaking  out  of  the  civil  war,  and  before  the  battle  of  Edgehill,  the 
king  wrote  in  the  following  terms  to  the  earl  of  Newcastle  : — 

**  Newcastle,  this  is  to  tell  you  that  this  rebellion  has  grown  to  that 
height,  that  I  must  not  locke  what  opinion  men  ar  who,  at  this  tyme, 
ar  willing  to  serve  me.  Therefore,  I  do  not  only  permit  but  command 
you,  to  make  use  of  all  my  loving  subjects,  without  examining  their 
conscienses  (more  than  their  loyalty  to  me),  as  you  shall  finde  most  to 
conduce  to  the  uphoulding  of  my  just  regal  rights." — Brodie,  Hist,  of 
the  British  Empire,  iii.,  489,  note. 


VIII. 

Petition  against  Peace  presented  to  the  House  of  CommonSj  August 
7,  1643,  from  the  Common  Council  of  London. 

"  Showeth  that  your  petitioners,  having  heard  that  such  propositions 
and  offers  have  been  lately  sent  from  the  house  of  peers  to  this  honor- 
able house,  which  (as  we  greatly  fear),  if  yielded  unto,  would  be  des- 
tructive to  our  religion,  laws,  and  liberties ;  and  finding  already,  by 
experience,  that  the  spirits  of  all  the  well-affected  party  in  the  city  and 
counties  adjacent,  that  are  willing  to  assist  the  parliament,  both  in 
person  and  purse,  are  much  dejected  thereat ;  and  the  brotherly  assist- 
ance from  Scotland,  as  well  as  the  raising  and  maintaining  of  forces 
ourselves,  thereby  likely  to  be  retarded  (all  which  the  petitioners  refer 
to  your  serious  consideration) ;  and  considering  our  present  sad  condi- 
tion lies  upon  us  in  a  special  manner,  through  the  incensed  patience 
of  the  Almighty,  by  delay  and  want  of  execution  of  justice  upon  traitors 
and  delinquents,  and  having  an  opportunity  yet  to  speak,  our  desires  are : 

'*  That  you  would  be  pleased  so  to  persist  in  your  former  resolutions, 
whereupon  the  people  have  so  much  depended,  and  wherein  you  have 
so  deeply  engaged  yourselves  (though  you  should  perish  in  the  work), 
that  justice  may  be  done  upon  offenders  and  delinquents.  And  that 
since  we  are  as  willing  as  ever  to  expose  what  we  are  and  have  for  the 
crowning  of  so  good  a  cause,  you  will  be  pleased,  by  speedy  passing  the 
ordinance  hereto  annext,  or  one  to  this  effect,  to  put  us  into  a  probable 
way  for  our  and  your  defence,  wherein  your  petitioners  will,  by  the 
blessing  of  God,  never  be  wanting." 

There  was  annexed  to  this  petition  the  draft  of  an  ordinance  for 
empowering  a  committee  to  enlist  men  and  receive  subscriptions  from 
such  as  should  offer  them. — Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  356. 


APPENDIX. 


469 


IX. 

Petition  in  favor  of  Peace  presented  to  the  House  of  Commons, 
AugUrSt  9,  1643,  6y  the  Women  of  London. 

"  Showeth  that  your  poor  petitioners  (though  of  the  weaker  sex)  do 
too  sensibly  perceive  the  ensuing  desolation  of  this  kingdom,  unless  by 
some  timely  means  your  honors  provide  for  the  speedy  recovery  hereof. 
Your  honors  are  the  physicians  that  can,  by  God's  special  and  miracu- 
lous blessing  (which  we  humbly  implore),  restore  this  languishing 
nation,  and  our  bleeding  sister,  the  kingdom  of  Ireland,  which  hath 
now  almost  breathed  her  last  gasp. 

"  We  need  not  dictate  to  your  eagle-eyed  judgment  the  way  ;  our 
only  desire  is,  that  God's  glory  in  the  true  reformed  protestant  religion 
may  be  preserved,  the  just  prerogatives  and  privileges  of  king  and  par- 
liament maintained,  the  true  liberties  and  properties  of  the  subjects, 
according  to  the  known  laws  of  the  land,  restored,  and  all  honorable 
ways  and  means  for  a  speedy  peace  endeavored. 

"  May  it  therefore  please  your  honors,  that  some  speedy  course  may 
be  taken  for  the  settlement  of  the  true  reformed  protestant  religion,  for 
the  glory  of  God  and  the  renovation  of  trade,  for  the  benefit  of  the  sub- 
jects, they  being  the  soul  and  body  of  the  kingdom. 

"  And  your  petitioners,  with  many  millions  of  afilicted  souls,  groan- 
ing under  the  burden  of  these  times  of  distress,  shall  ever  pray." 


X. 

A  Declaration  and  Vindication  of  John  Pym,  Esq. 

«•  It  is  not  unknown  to  all  the  world  (especially  to  all  the  inhabitants 
in  and  about  London)  with  what  desperate  and  fame-wounding  asper- 
sions my  reputation,  and  the  integrity  of  my  intentions  to  God,  my 
king,  and  my  country,  hath  been  invaded  by  the  malice  and  fury  of 
malignants,  and  ill-affected  persons  to  the  good  of  the  commonwealth. 
Some  charging  me  with  being  a  promoter  and  patronizer  of  all  the 
innovations  which  have  been  obtruded  upon  the  ecclesiastical  govern- 
ment of  the  church  of  England.  Others,  of  more  spiteful  and  exorbi- 
tant spirits,  alleging  that  I  have  been  the  man,  who  have  begot  and 
fostered  all  the  so  lamented  distractions,  which  are  now  rife  in  the 
kingdom;  and  though  such  calumnies  are  ever  more  harmful  to  the 
authors,  than  to  those  whom  they  strive  to  wound  with  them,  when 
they  arrive  only  to  the  censure  of  judicious  persons,  who  can  distin- 
guish forms,  and  see  the  difference  betwixt  truth  and  falsehood  :  yet, 
because  the  scandals  inflicted  upon  my  innocence  have  been  obvious  to 
people  of  all  conditions,  many  of  which  may  entertain  a  belief  of  those 
reproachful  reports,  though,  in  my  own  soul,  I  am  far  abo\e  those 
ignominies,  and  so  was  once  resolved  to  have  waved  them,  as  unworthy 
of  my  notice  :  yet,  at  last,  for  the  assertion  of  my  integrity,  I  concluded 

40 


^m^ 


470 


APPENDIX. 


APPENDIX. 


471 


to  declare  myself  in  this  matter,  that  all  the  world,  but  such  as  will  not 
be  convinced,  either  by  reason  or  truth,  may  bear  testimony  of  my 
innocency.  To  pass  by,  therefore,  the  earl  of  Strafford's  business,  in 
which  some  have  been  so  impudent  as  to  charge  me  of  too  much  par- 
tiality and  malice  ;  I  shall  declare  myself  fully  concerning  the  rest  of 
their  aspersions;  namely,  that  I  have  promoted  and  fomented  the 
differences  now  abounding  in  the  English  church. 

**  How  unlikely  this  is  and  improbable,  shall  to  every  indifferent  man 
be  quickly  rendered  perspicuous  :  For  that  I  am,  and  ever  was,  and  so 
will  die,  a  faithful  son  of  the  protestant  religion,  without  leaving  the 
least  relation  in  my  belief  to  those  great  errors  of  Anabaptism,  Brown- 
ism,  and  the  like,  every  man  that  hath  any  acquaintance  with  my  con- 
versation, can  bear  me  righteous  witness.  These  being  but  aspersions 
cast  upon  me  by  some  of  the  discontented  clergy,  and  their  factors  and 
abettors,  because  they  might  perhaps  conceive  that  I  had  been  a  main 
instrument  in  extenuating  the  haughty  power  and  ambitious  pride  of  the 
bishops  and  prelates.  As  I  only  delivered  my  opinions  as  a  member 
of  the  house  of  commons,  that  attempt  or  action  of  mine  had  been 
justifiable,  both  to  God  and  a  good  conscience  ;  and  had  no  way  con- 
cluded me  guilty  of  a  revolt  from  the  orthodox  doctrine  of  the  church 
of  England,  because  I  sought  a  reformation  of  some  gross  abuses  crept 
into  the  government  by  the  cunning  and  perverseness  of  the  bishoj)s 
and  their  substitutes  ;  for  was  it  not  high  time  to  seek  to  regulate  their 
power,  when,  instead  of  looking  to  the  cure  of  men's  souls  (which  is 
their  genuine  office),  they  inflicted  punishment  on  men's  bodies,  banish- 
ing them  to  remote  and  desolate  places  ;  after  stigmatizing  their  faces, 
only  for  the  testimony  of  a  good  conscience,  when,  not  contented  with 
those  insufferable  insolences,  they  sought  to  bring  in  unheard  of  canons 
into  the  church,  Arminian  or  papistical  ceremonies  (whether  you  please 
to  term  them,  there  is  not  much  difference),  imposing  burdens  upon 
men's  consciences,  which  they  were  not  able  to  bear,  and  introducing 
the  old  abolished  superstition  of  bowing  to  the  altar  ;  and  if  it  savored 
either  of  Brownism  or  Anabaptism,  to  endeavor  to  suppress  the  growth 
of  those  Romish  errors,  I  appeal  to  any  equal  minded  protestant,  either 
for  my  judge  or  witness  ;  nay,  had  the  attempts  of  the  bishops  desisted 
here,  tolerable  they  had  been,  and  their  power  not  so  much  questioned, 
as  since  it  hath  ;  for  when  they  saw  the  honorable  the  high  court  of 
parliament  began  to  look  into  their  enormities  and  abuses,  beholding 
now  they  wrested  religion  like  a  waxen  nose,  to  the  furtherance  of  their 
ambitious  purposes,  then  Troy  was  taken  in,  then  they  began  to  despair 
of  holding  any  longer  their  usurped  authority  ;  and  therefore,  as  much 
as  in  them  lay,  both  by  public  declarations  and  private  councils,  they 
labored  to  foment  the  civil  differences  between  his  Majesty  and  his 
parliament,  abetting  the  proceedings  of  the  malignants  with  large  sup- 
plies of  men  and  money,  and  stirring  up  the  people  to  tumults  by  their 
seditious  sermons.  Surely,  then,  no  man  can  account  me  an  ill  son  of 
the  commonwealth,  if  I  deliver  my  opinion,  and  pass  my  vote  freely 
for  their  abolishment ;  which  may  by  the  same  equity  be  put  in  practice 
by  this  parliament ;  as  the  dissolution  of  monasteries  and  their  lazy 
inhabitants,  monks  and  friars,  was  in  Henry  the  Eighth's  time ;  for 
without  dispute,  they  carried  as  much  reputation  in  the  kingdom  then, 


as  bishops  have  done  in  it  since ;  and  yet  a  parliament  then  had  power 
to  put  them  down  ;  why,  then,  should  not  a  parliament  have  the  power 
to  do  the  like  to  these,  every  way  guilty  of  as  many  offences  against  the 
state  as  the  former  ?  For  my  own  part,  I  attest  God  Almighty,  the 
knower  of  all  hearts,  that  neither  envy,  nor  any  private  grudge  to  all  or 
any  of  the  bishops,  hath  made  me  averse  to  their  function,  but  merely 
my  zeal  to  religion  and  God's  cause,  which  I  perceived  to  be  trampled 
under  foot  by  the  too  extended  authority  of  the  prelates ;  who  accord- 
ing to  the  purity  of  their  institution,  should  have  been  men  of  upright 
hearts,  and  humble  minds,  shearing  their  flocks,  and  not  flaying  them, 
when  it  is  evident  they  were  the  quite  contrary. 

"  And  whereas  some  will  allege,  it  is  no  good  argument  to  dissolve 
the  function  of  bishops,  because  some  bishops  are  vicious :  to  that 
answer,  since  the  vice  of  these  bishops  was  derivative  from  the  author- 
ity of  their  function,  it  is  very  fitting  the  function,  which  is  the  cause 
thereof,  be  corrected,  and  its  authority  divested  of  its  borrowed  feathers ; 
otherwise,  it  is  impossible  but  the  same  power  which  made  these  pre- 
sent bishops  (should  the  episcopal  and  prelatical  dignity  continue  in  its 
ancient  height  and  vigor)  so  proud  and  arrogant,  would  infuse  the  same 
vices  into  their  successors. 

"  But  this  is  but  a  molehill  to  that  mountain  of  scandalous  reports 
that  have  been  inflicted  on  my  integrity  to  his  sacred  majesty ;  some 
boldly  averring  me  for  the  author  of  the  present  distraction  between 
his  majesty  and  his  parliament,  when  I  take  God,  and  all  that  know  my 
proceedings,  to  be  my  vouchers,  that  I  neither  directly  nor  indirectly 
ever  had  a  thought  tending  to  the  least  disobedience  or  disloyalty  to  his 
majesty,  whom  I  acknowledge  my  lawful  king  and  sovereign,  and  would 
expend  my  blood  as  soon  in  his  service  as  any  subject  he  hath.  'T  is 
true,  when  I  perceived  my  life  aimed  at,  and  heard  myself  proscribed 
a  traitor,  merely  for  my  entireness  of  heart  to  the  service  of  my  country, 
was  informed  that  I,  with  some  other  honorable  and  worthy  members 
of  parliament,  were  against  the  privileges  thereof  demanded,  even  in 
the  parliament  house,  by  his  majesty,  attended  by  a  multitude  of  men 
at  arms  and  malignants,  who,  I  verily  believe,  had  for  some  ill  ends  of 
their  own  persuaded  his  majesty  to  that  excess  of  rigor  against  us ; 
when,  for  my  own  part  (my  conscience  is  to  me  a  thousand  witnesses 
in  that  behalf),  I  never  harbored  a  thought  which  tended  to  any  dis- 
service to  his  majesty,  nor  ever  had  an  intention  prejudicial  to  the 
state;  when,  I  say,  notwithstanding  my  own  innocence,  I  saw  myself 
in  such  apparent  danger,  no  man  will  think  me  blameworthy  in  that  I 
took  care  of  my  own  safety,  and  fled  for  refuge  to  the  protection  of  the 
parliament,  which,  making  my  case  their  own,  not  only  purged  me  and 
the  rest  of  the  guilt  of  high  treason,  but  also  secured  our  lives  from  the 
storm  that  was  ready  to  burst  out  upon  us. 

"  And  if  this  hath  been  the  occasion  that  hath  withdrawn  his  majesty 
from  the  parliament,  surely  the  fault  can  in  no  way  be  imputed  to  me, 
or  any  proceeding  of  mine ;  which  never  went  further,  either  since  his 
majesty's  departure  or  before,  than  so  far  as  they  were  warranted  by 
the  known  laws  of  the  land  and  authorized  by  the  indisputable  and  un- 
deniable power  of  the  parliament ;  and  so  long  as  I  am  secure  in  my 
own  conscience  that  this  is  truth,  I  account  myself  above  all  their 


t  H 


I  i 


472 


APPENDIX. 


APPENDIX. 


473 


calumnies  and  falsehoods,  which  shall  return  upon  themselves,  and  not 
wound  my  reputation  in  good  and  impartial  men's  opinions. 

*«  But  in  that  devilish  conspiracy  of  Catiline,  against  the  state  and 
senate  of  Rome,  none  amonc  the  senators  was  so  obnoxious  to  the  envy 
of  the  conspirators,  or  liable  to  their  traducements,  as  that  orator  and 
patriot  of  his  country,  Cicero,  because  by  his  council  and  zeal  to  the 
commonwealth,  their  plot  for  the  ruin  thereof  was  discovered  and  pre- 
vented ;  though  I  will  not  be  so  arrogant  to  parallel  myself  with  that 
worthy',  yet  my  case  (if  we  may  compare  lesser  things  with  great)  has 
to  his  a  very  near  resemblance :  the  cause  that  I  am  so  much  ma- 
ligned and  reproached  by  ill-affected  persons,  being ijecause  I  have  been 
forward  in  advancing  the  affairs  of  the  kingdom,  and  have  been  taken 
notice  of  for  that  forwardness,  they,  out  of  their  malice,  converting  that 
to  a  vice  which,  without  boast  be  it  spoken,  I  esteem  as  my  principal 
virtue,  my  care  to  the  public  utility.  And  since  it  is  for  that  cause 
that  I  suffer  these  scandals,  I  shall  endure  them  with  patience,  hoping 
that  God  in  his  great  mercy  will  at  last  reconcile  his  majesty  to  his 
high  court  of  parliament ;  and  then  I  doubt  not  to  give  his  royal  self 
(though  he  be  much  incensed  against  me)  a  sufficient  account  of  my 
integrity.  In  the  interim,  I  hope  the  world  will  believe  that  I  am  not 
the  first  innocent  man  that  hath  been  injured,  and  so  will  suspend  their 
further  censures  of  me." — Rushworth,  ii.,  3,  376. 


XI. 

Letter  from  the  King  to  Prince  Rupert y  ordering  him  to  go  and 

relieve  York. 

Ticknell  (Tickenhall),  14  June,  1644. 

*•  Nephew, 

"  First  I  must  congratulate  with  you  for  your  good  successes,  assur- 
ing you  that  the  things  themselves  are  no  more  welcome  to  me  than 
that  vou  are  the  means.  I  know  the  importance  of  supplying  you  with 
powder,  for  which  I  have  taken  all  possible  ways,  having  sent  both  to 
Ireland  and  Bristol.  As  from  Oxford,  this  bearer  is  well  satisfied  that 
it  is  impossible  to  have  at  present,  but  if  he  tell  you  that  I  may  spare 
them  from  hence,  I  leave  you  to  jud^e,  having  but  thirty-six  left ;  but 
what  I  can  get  from  Bristol  (of  which  there  is  not  much  certainty,  it 
being  threatened  to  be  besieged)  you  shall  have.  ,  •  ,    r  i.  • 

**  But  now  I  must  give  you  the  true  state  of  my  affairs,  which  if  their 
condition  be  such  as  enforces  me  to  give  you  more  peremptory  com- 
mands than  I  would  willingly  do,  you  must  not  take  it  ill.  If  York  be 
lost,  I  shall  esteem  my  crown  little  less,  unless  supported  by  your  sud- 
den march  to  me,  and  a  miraculous  conquest  in  the  South,  before  the 
effects  of  the  northern  power  can  be  found  here :  but  if  York  be  re- 
lieved, and  you  beat  the  rebels'  armies  of  both  kingdoms  which  are 
before  it,  then,  but  otherwise  not,  I  may  possibly  make  a  shift  (upon 
the  defensive)  to  spin  out  time,  until  you  come  to  assist  me.    Where- 


fore, I  command  and  conjure  you,  by  the  duty  and  affection  which  I 
know  you  bear  me,  that  (all  new  enterprises  laid  aside)  you  immedi- 
ately march  (according  to  your  first  ijitention)  with  all  your  force  to 
the  relief  of  York ;  but  if  that  be  either  lost,  or  have  freed  themselves 
from  the  besiegers,  or  that  for  want  of  powder,  you  cannot  undertake 
that  work,  that  you  immediately  march  with  your  whole  strength  to 
Worcester,  to  assist  me  and  my  army,  without  which,  or  your  having 
relieved  York,  by  beating  the  Scots,  all  the  successes  you  can  afterwards 
have,  most  infallibly  will  be  useless  unto  me ;  you  may  believe  that 
nothing  but  an  extreme  necessity  could  make  me  write  thus  unto  you, 
wherefore,  in  this  case,  I  can  no  ways  doubt  of  your  punctual  compli- 
ance with 

Your  loving  uncle  and  most  faithful  friend, 

*'  Charles  R." 
"  I  command  this  bearer  to  speak  to  you  concerning  Vavasour." — 
Evelyn,  Mem.,  ii.,  Append.  87. 


XII. 

The  Self-denying  Ordinance,  adopted  by  the  House  of  Commons, 

3d  April,  1645. 

«*  Be  it  ordained  by  the  lords  and  commons  assembled  in  parliament, 
that  all  and  every  of  the  members  of  either  house  of  parliament  shall 
be  and  by  the  authority  of  this  ordinance  are  discharged  at  the  end  of 
forty  days  after  the  passing  of  this  ordinance,  of  and  from  all  and  every 
office  or  command,  military  or  civil,  granted  or  conferred  by  both  or 
either  of  the  said  houses  of  this  present  parliament,  or  by  any  authority 
derived  from  both  or  either  of  them,  since  the  20th  November,  1640. 
And  be  it  further  ordained,  that  all  governors  and  commanders  of  any 
island,  town,  castle,  or  fort,  and  all  other  colonels  and  officers  inferior 
to  colonels  in  the  several  armies,  not  being  members  of  either  of  the 
said  houses  of  parliament,  shall,  according  to  their  respective  commis- 
sions, continue  in  their  several  places  and  command  wherein  they  were 
employed  and  entrusted,  the  20th  March,  1644,  as  if  this  ordinance  had 
not  been  made.  And  that  the  vice-admiral,  rear-admiral,  and  all  other 
captains  and  other  inferior  officers  in  the  fleet,  shall,  according  to  their 
several  and  respective  commissions,  continue  in  their  several  places 
and  commands,  wherein  they  were  employed  and  entrusted,  the  said 
20th  March,  1644,  as  if  this  ordinance  had  not  been  made.  Provided 
always,  and  it  is  further  ordained  and  declared,  that  during  this  war 
the  benefit  of  all  offices,  being  neither  military  nor  judicial,  hereafter 
to  be  granted,  or  any  way  to  be  appointed  to  any  person  or  persons,  by 
both  or  either  house  of  parliament,  or  by  authority  derived  from  thence, 
shall  go  and  enure  to  such  public  uses  as  both  houses  of  parliament 
shall  appoint ;  and  the  grantees  and  persons  executing  all  such  offices 
shall  be  accountable  to  the  parliament  for  all  the  profits  and  perqui- 
sites thereof,  and  shall  have  no  profit  out  of  any  such  office,  other  than 
a  competent  salary  for  the  execution  of  the  same,  m  such  manner  as 

40* 


I 


i 

lii> 


474 


APPENDIX. 


both  houses  of  parliament  shall  order  and  ordain.  Provided,  that  this 
ordinance  shall  not  extend  to  take  away  the  power  and  authority  of  any 
lieutenancy  or  deputy  lieutenancy  in  the  several  counties,  cities,  or 
places,  or  of  any  custos-rotulorum,  or  of  any  commissioner  for  justice 
of  peace,  or  sewers,  or  any  commission  of  Oyer  and  Terminer,  or  gaol 
delivery.  Provided  always,  and  it  is  hereby  declared,  that  those  mem- 
bers of  either  house  who  had  offices  by  grant  from  his  majesty  before 
this  parliament,  and  were  by  his  majesty  displaced  sitting  this  parlia- 
ment, and  have  since  by  authority  of  both  houses  been  restored,  shall 
not  by  this  ordinance  be  discharged  from  their  said  offices  or  profits 
thereof,  but  shall  enjoy  the  same  ;  anything  in  this  ordinance  to  the 
contrary  thereof  notwithstanding." — Pari.  Hist.,  iii.,  355 


XIII. 

Extract  from  the  Minutes  of  the  Council  held  at  Oxford^  Dec.  5, 

1644. 


(( 


PRESENT 


The  King's  Most  Excellent  Majesty, 


Prince  Rupert, 

Prince  Maurice, 

Lord  Keeper, 

Lord  Treasurer, 

Lord  Duke  of  Richmond, 

Lord  Marquis  of  Hertford, 

Lord  Great  Chamberlain, 

Earl  of  Southampton, 

Lord  Chamberlain, 


Earl  of  Berkshire, 

Earl  of  Sussex, 

Earl  of  Chichester, 

Lord  Digby, 

Lord  Seymour, 

Lord  Colepepper, 

Mr.  Secretary  Nicholas, 

Mr.  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer. 


**  A  letter  was  read  written  by  the  earl  of  Essex  to  his  highness 
prince  Rupert,  general  of  his  majesty's  armies,  in  these  words  : — 

*Sir, 

*  There  being  a  message  sent  from  his  majesty  by  the  committees  of 
both  kingdoms,  that  were  lately  at  Oxford,  concerning  a  safe  conduct 
for  the  duke  of  Richmond,  and  earl  of  Southampton,  without  any  direc- 
tion, I  am  commanded,  by  both  houses  of  parliament,  to  give  your 
highness  notice,  that  if  the  king  be  pleased  to  desire  a  safe  conduct  for 
the  duke  of  Richmond  and  the  earl  of  Southampton,  with  their  attend- 
ants, from  the  lords  and  commons  assembled  in  the  parliament  of  Eng- 
land, at  Westminster,  to  bring  to  the  lords  and  commons  assembled  in 
the  parliament  of  England,  and  the  commissioners  of  the  kingdom  of 
Scotland,  now  at  London,  an  answer  to  the  propositions  presented  to 
his  majesty  for  a  safe  and  well-grounded  peace,  it  shall  be  granted. 
This  is  all  I  have  at  present  to  trouble  your  highness,  being 

*  Your  highness's  humble  servant, 

*  Dec.  3, 1644.*  *  Essex. 


APPENDIX. 


475 


«*  This  letter  and  the  expressions  therein  being  fully  considered  and 
debated,  it  was  by  the  whole  council  unanimously  resolved,  that  his 
majesty's  desire  of  a  safe  conduct,  in  the  terms  expressed  in  that  letter, 
would  not  be  any  acknowledgment  or  concession  of  the  members  of 
the  two  houses  sitting  at  Westminster  to  be  a  parliament,  nor  any  ways 
prejudice  his  majesty's  cause. 

♦*  Whereupon  his  majesty  declaring  openly  at  the  board,  that  since 
such  was  their  lordships'  opinion,  that  he  did  therefore  and  eo  animo 
consent  thereto,  and  accordingly  his  majesty  desired  his  highness, 
prince  Rupert,  as  his  majesty's  general,  to  return  this  answer  : — 

*  My  Lord, 

*  I  am  commanded  by  his  majesty  to  desire  of  your  lordship  a  safe 
conduct  for  the  duke  of  Richmond  and  the  earl  of  Southampton,  with 
their  attendants,  coaches  and  horses,  and  other  accommodations  for 
their  journey  in  their  coming  to  London,  during  their  stay,  and  in  their 
return,  when  they  shall  think  fit,  from  the  lords  and  commons  assem- 
bled in  the  parliament  of  England,  in  Westminster,  to  bring  to  the 
lords  and  commons  assembled  in  the  parliament  of  England,  and  the 
commissioners  of  the  parliament  of  Scotland,  now  at  London,  an  answer 
to  the  propositions  presented  to  his  majesty  for  a  safe  and  well-grounded 

peace.     Resting,  ,     ,  u-  ,  ^ 

*  Your  lordship  s  servant, 

*  Oxon,  5  Dec,  1644.'  *  Rupert. 

«  Which  answer  was  accordingly  sent  to  London  by  a  trumpeter. 

"  Edw.  Nicholas." 

{The  following  is  in  the  handwriting  of  sir  Edward  JVicholas.) 

"  Memorandum :— That  the  king  and  myself  of  all  the  council  board 
were  the  only  persons  that  concurred  not  in  opinion  that  it  was  fit  to 
call  those  sitting  at  Westminster  a  parliament.  Prince  Rupert,  though 
h"  was  present,  did  not  vote,  because  he  was  to  execute  what  should 
be  resolved  on  by  this  council ;  but,  by  the  order  and  practice  of  the 
council  board,  if  the  major  part  agree  to  any  act  or  order,  all  the  coun- 
cillors that  are  present  at  the  debate,  albeit  their  dissent,  are  involved, 
and  are  to  be  named  as  if  they  consented.  ^  ^^ 

Evelyn,  Mem.,  ii.,  Appendix,  90.  *'  J^-  ^' 


XIV. 

March  of  David  Lesley. 


March,  march,  pinks  of  election  ! 
Why  the  devil  don't  you  march  onward  in  order  i 

March,  march,  dogs  of  redemption  : 
Ere  the  blue  bonnets  come  over  the  border. 


i 


476 


APPENDIX. 


You  shall  preach,  you  shall  pray. 

You  shall  teach  night  and  day  ; 
You  shall  prevail  o'er  the  kirk  gone  a  whoring  ; 

Dance  in  blood  to  the  knees. 

Blood  of  God's  enemies  ! 
The  daughters  of  Scotland  shall  sing  you  to  snoring. 

II. 

March,  march,  dregs  of  all  wickedness  ! 
Glory  that  lower  you  can't  be  debased  ; 

March,  march,  dunghills  of  blessedness  ! 
March  and  rejoice  for  you  shall  be  raised 

Not  to  board,  not  to  rope. 

But  to  faith  and  to  hope ; 
Scotland's  athirst  for  the  truth  to  be  taught  her  ; 

Her  chosen  virgin  race, 

How  they  will  grow  in  grace. 
Round  as  a  neep,  like  calves  for  the  slaughter ! 

III. 

March,  march,  scourges  of  heresy  ! 
Down  with  the  kirk  and  its  whilieballeery  ! 

March,  march  !  down  with  supremacy 
And  the  kist  fu'  o'  whistles,  that  maks  sic  a  cleary  ; 

Fife  men  and  pipers  braw. 

Merry  deils,  take  them  a'. 
Gown,  lace  and  livery,  lickpot  and  ladle  ; 

Jockey  shall  wear  the  hood, 

Jenny  the  sark  of  God, 
For  codpiece  and  petticoat,  dishclout  and  daidle. 

IV. 

March,  march,  blest  ragamuffins  ! 
Sing,  as  ye  go,  the  hymns  of  rejoicing ! 

March,  march,  justified  ruffians  ! 
Chosen  of  heaven  !  to  glory  you'  re  rising. 

Ragged  and  treacherous. 

Lousy  and  lecherous. 
Objects  of  misery,  scorning  and  laughter  ; 

Never,  O  happy  race  ! 

Magnified  so  was  grace  ; 
Host  of  the  righteous  !  rush  to  the  slaughter ! 

Hogg,  Jacobite  Relics  of  Scotland,  i.,  5, 163. 


XV. 

I  GIVE  here  the  unpublished  documents  and  dispatches  relative  to  the 
intervention  of  the  States  General  of  the  United  Provinces  in  favor  of 


APPENDIX. 


477 


Charles  I.  The  first  of  these  is  in  French,  the  others  are  in  Dutch  ; 
I  have  had  them  completely  and  literally  translated  from  certified 
copies  of  the  originals,  which  M.  de  Jouge,  keeper  of  the  records  of 
the  Netherlands,  had  transcribed,  and  sent  to  me  from  the  Hague : 

"  I.  A  Summary  of  what  his  Royal  Highness  the  Prince  of  Wales 
caused  to  be  represented  on  his  part  and  in  his  presence  to  their 
High  Mightinesses  the  States  General  of  the  United  Provinces 
of  the  JVetherlandSj  by  the  resident  of  the  King  of  Great  Bri- 
tainy  Sfc,  Jan.  23,  1049. 

"  His  royal  highness  the  prince  of  Wales  has  for  a  long  time  had  the 
intention  of  requesting  a  personal  audience,  to  acknowledge  the  honors 
and  great  courtesies  he  has  received  from  their  lordships  since  his 
arrival  in  these  countries ;  and  now  he  desires  it  with  peculiar  earnest- 
ness, on  an  occasion  of  the  greatest  importance  in  the  world  to  his  royal 
highness,  and  in  which  he  presumes  their  lordships  will  fully  sympa- 
thize. Their  lordships  cannot  be  ignorant  of  the  great  danger  in 
which  the  life  of  the  king,  his  father,  now  stands ;  how,  after  a  per- 
sonal treaty  with  his  two  houses  of  parliament,  there  was  such  pro- 
gress made  towards  peace  by  the  concessions  of  his  majesty  that  the 
said  houses  declared  themselves  resolved  to  proceed  on  them  to  the 
establishment  of  the  peace  of  the  kingdom ;  which  would  indubitably 
have  taken  place  had  not  the  army  seized  his  majesty's  person,  and 
committed  to  prison  several  members  of  parliament  who  had  shown 
themselves  the  most  disposed  for  the  said  treaty  of  peace. 

"  Such  is,  then,  the  state  of  that  truly  miserable  kingdom  ;  the  king 
so  closely  confined  that  a  gentleman,  sent  expressly  by  his  royal  high- 
ness only  to  see  his  majesty,  was  not  admitted  to  his  presence ;  the 
parliament  so  broken  up  and  dispersed  that  there  only  remain  there 
about  fifty  out  of  more  than  five  hundred  members  in  the  house  of 
commons ;  and  the  house  of  lords,  who  have  unanimously  refused  their 
concurrence  in  these  violent  proceedings,  practically  annihilated,  by 
a  declaration  of  these  few  commons  that  all  sovereign  power  in  that 
kingdom  belongs  to  them  without  king  or  lords.  So  that  the  members 
of  parliament  do  not  meet,  except  those  who  agree  and  submit  to  the 
orders  of  a  court-martial,  constituted  to  govern  the  kingdom ;  having 
to  this  end  published  a  remonstrance  containing  the  plan  of  a  new  go- 
vernment, which  they  desire  to  establish  to  the  ruin  of  the  parliament 
as  well  as  of  the  king,  subverting  the  fabric  and  constitution  of  the 
kingdom,  and  of  all  its  laws,  and  exposing  the  protestant  religion  to 
the  invasion  of  more  heresies  and  schisms  than  ever  in  any  century  in- 
fested the  Christian  church. 

"  Not  contented  with  this  confusion,  they  have  passed  a  resolution 
and  appointed  commissioners  for  a  trial  against  the  person  of  his  ma- 
jesty, apparently  to  depose  him  and  take  away  his  life  ;  which  his 
royal  highness  cannot  mention  without  horror,  and  which  he  is  cer- 
tain their  lordships  cannot  hear  without  equal  detestation. 

"  What  influence  these  unprecedented  proceedings  may  have  on  the 
interest  and  repose  of  all  kings,  princes,  and  states,  and  how  much  the 
extravagant  power  which  these  people  have  usurped  may  affect  the 


4 

'■if 


!1 

1  ■( 


478 


APPENDIX. 


APPENDIX. 


479 


tranquillity  of  the  neighboring  countries,  and  how  far  the  reformed 
religion  may  suffer  by  these  scandalous  acts  of  those  who  profess  it,  it 
is  needless  for  his  royal  highness  to  ur^e  their  lordships  to  consider ; 
but  he  contents  himself  with  having  given  this  sad  recital  of  the  con- 
dition and  misery  in  which  the  king  and  the  crown  of  England  are  at 
present ;  convinced  that  their  lordships  will  act  thereupon  according 
to  the  esteem  and  respect  they  have  ever  shown  towards  so  good  a 
friend  and  ally.  His  royal  highness  therefore  promises  himself,  from 
the  friendship  and  wisdom  of  their  lordships,  as  soon  as  possible,  such 
assistance  from  their  counsels  and  otherwise,  as  the  present  extreme 
necessity  of  the  king  his  father  and  of  his  royal  highness  require,  who 
by  this  will  ever  be  really  and  for  ever  feel  obliged  to  contribute  all  in 
their  power  to  the  support  and  advancement  of  the  interest,  grandeur, 
and  felicity  of  their  lordships." 

After  these  representations  of  the  prince  of  Wales,  the  States  re- 
solved to  send  to  London,  as  extraordinary  ambassadors.  Messieurs 
Albert  Joachim  and  Adrien  de  Pauw,  with  the  following  instruc- 
tions : — 

"  II.   Instructions  for  Messieurs  the  Ambassadors  of  their  High 
Mightinesses  sent  to  London  in  the  year  1649. 

«*  The  ambassadors  will  represent  to  the  parliament  of  England,  that 
•the  consequences  of  the  king's  imprisonment  will  turn  to  the  advantage 
or  disadvantage  of  the  kingdom  of  England,  according  to  the  modera- 
tion or  severity  that  shall  henceforth  be  shown  towards  his  person  ;  for 
all  neutrals  are  of  opinion  that  the  misfortune  in  which  he  is  at  pre- 
sent, has  come  upon  him  because  he  was  of  a  contrary  opinion  to  that 
which  has  prevailed,  as  to  the  means  to  be  employed  to  remedy  the 
evils  which  exist  in  the  kidgdom  of  Great  Britain.  As  it  is  yet  time 
to  find  remedies  for  these  evils,  the  parliament  is  requested  not  to  tole- 
rate that  all  sorts  of  pretexts  should  be  seized  upon  to  aggravate  the 
grievances  already  charged  upon  the  prisoner,  and  thus  render  him 
more  unhappy  than  he  is  at  present.  Supposing  that  the  party  who 
has  been  defeated  had  gained  the  day,  it  is  possible  he  might  have 
judged  with  rigor  the  conduct  of  his  adversaries,  and  refused  them  all 
means  of  defence ;  but  the  States-general  are  persuaded  that  the  good 
faith  of  all  those  who  shall  hear  the  propositions  of  MM.  the  Ambas- 
sadors, will  make  them  answer  within  themselves  that  this  would  not 
have  been  equitable,  and  that  they  will  approve  the  axiom  :  Politicum 
in  civilibus  dissensionibus,  quamvis  sape  per  eas  status  ladatur,  non 
tamen  in  exitium  status  contenditur^  proinde  qui  in  alterutras  partes 
descendunt  hostium  vice  non  habendi. 

**  MM.  the  States-general  know  that  your  excellencies  have  appoint- 
ed commissioners-extraordinary  to  examine  the  king's  situation ;  they 
rely  as  much  in  the  choice  of  your  excellencies  as  in  the  sincerity  and 
good  faith  with  which  the  said  commissioners  will  give,  in  the  case  in 
question,  a  judgment  which  may  be  submitted  to  the  examination  of 
the  whole  world,  and  be  one  day  approved  by  the  supreme  Judge  to 
whom  they  will  be  responsible.  AH  well-disposed  persons  expect, 
that  in  an  affair  of  such  importance,  a  wise  and  Christian  course  will 
be  pursued. 


"  The  experience  of  all  times  has  shown,  that  distrust  easily  intro- 
duces itself  into  governments ;  that  in  those  which  are  composed  of 
several  bodies  it  is  usually  a  powerful  incitement ;  that,  in  short,  there 
is  neither  shame  nor  dishonor  to  be  feared,  when  the  safety  of  the 
state  is  concerned,  which  renders  all  fears  legitimate  and  commenda- 
ble. Yet  nothing  can  be  more  lamentable  than  to  give  way  to  extrava- 
gant suspicions,  which  interpret  everything  in  an  ill  sense. 

**  If  your  excellencies  have  thought  that  some  calamity  threatened 
the  kingdom  of  England,  in  preventing  it  you  have  attained  your  ob- 
ject. Every  one  knows  that  it  happens  to  the  wisest  of  those  who  go- 
vern the  commonwealth,  to  mix  up  with  public  affairs  somewhat  of 
their  private  affections ;  and  that  never  to  fail  in  the  management  of  great 
concerns,  is  a  perfection  above  human  nature,  and  the  failing  in  which 
may  well  be  excused. 

"  This  is  what  the  States-general  beg  your  excellencies  to  take  into 
consideration,  persuaded  that  you  will  do  it  with  the  greatest  wisdom. 
Notwithstanding  the  distrust  your  excellencies  have  conceived  respect- 
ing so  great  a  personage,  you  should  take  into  account  so  long  an  im- 
prisonment (which,  in  itself,  is  already,  according  to  the  common  law, 
a  great  punishment),  and  the  great  and  notable  services  rendered  to 
the  kingdom  of  England  by  him  and  his  predecessors,  kings  and  queens. 
Your  excellencies  will  have  compassion  upon  him,  and  remember  :  Ut 
erimatur  periculo  qui  est  inter  vos  celebri  fama  ne  ipsis  opprobrio 
multi  magis  ac  magis  alienentur. 

'*  It  is  of  great  importance  to  the  welfare  of  the  kingdom  of  England, 
that  your  excellencies  should  proceed  accordingly,  and  follow  the 
counsel  of  that  Roman  who  advised,  the  better  to  assure  the  measures 
of  Pompey's  consulship,  not  to  annul  anything  that  had  been  done  under 
preceding  governments,  but  only  to  be  prudent  for  the  time  to  come. 
One  may  with  reason  apply  to  the  present  circumstances,  that  excel- 
lent precaution  which  one  took  to  secure  his  own  statue,  by  preventing 
from  being  overthrown  that  of  his  enemy,  whom  he  had  completely 
subdued.  It  is  thus  your  excellencies  are  requested  to  act  in  an  affair 
of  such  high  importance,  which  may  be  the  source  of  so  many  troubles, 
and  to  show  your  goodness  towards  this  great  personage,  in  preserving 
him  from  shtme  and  ignominy ;  for  it  is  not  sparing  men  to  allow  them 
to  be  dishonored.  The  parliament  is,  then,  entreated  to  restore  the 
king  to  liberty. 

"  The  ambassadors  are  also,  according  to  circumstances,  mutatis 
mutandis^  to  lay  the  above  considerations  before  general  Fairfax  and 
the  council  of  the  army,  adding,  that  their  distinguished  merit  has 
given  them  great  authority  in  the  kingdom  of  England,  and  that  all 
these  things  depend  principally  on  them,  and  will  turn  upon  their  in- 
tentions. On  which  account  the  States-general  recommend  this  affair 
to  their  great  wisdom,  so  that  they  may  be  to  England  (whose  greatest 
hopes  are  now  placed  in  them),  not  only  a  shield  and  a  sword  in  time 
of  war,  but  also  a  help  to  the  king  in  his  unhappy  situation,  by  direct- 
ing public  discussions  towards  a  good  and  moderate  end,  by  which  the 
kingdom  will  profit,  and  which  will  bring  on  themselves  an  immortal 
glory.  By  their  magnanimity,  they  will  cause  most  of  their  fellow- 
citizens  to  shed  tears  of  joy,  who  are  at  this  moment  on  the  point  of 


480 


APPENDIX. 


APPENDIX. 


481 


weeping  with  sorrow.  Of  old,  it  was  said  that  the  Syracusans  were 
but  the  body  and  the  limbs,  and  that  Archimedes  was  the  soul  which 
gave  motion  to  all ;  the  same  thing  may  be  said  at  present,  with  far 
more  reason,  of  the  kingdom  of  England,  and  of  his  excellency  and  the 
council  of  the  army :  this  body  and  these  limbs  will  not  act,  in  the 
present  affair,  under  any  other  direction  than  that  which  his  excellency 
and  the  council  of  the  army  shall  give  them  according  to  their  wise 
reflections.  While  thus  setting  forth  their  own  eminent  qualities  in 
fresh  glory  and  grandeur,  the  benefit  will  be  felt  by  every  inhabitant 
of  the  kingdom.  The  ambassadors  will  moreover  add,  that  there  was 
a  great  captain  and  wise  statesman  who  gloried  in  having  never  caused 
any  one  of  his  countrymen  to  shed  a  tear,  regarding  as  the  sweetest 
fruit  of  his  victories  that  he  could  every  day  dare  to  meet  all  his  fellow- 
citizens,  following  the  proverb  :  *  That  clemency  makes  beloved  and 
reverenced  all  those  who  practise  it,  and  that  severity,  far  from  re- 
moving obstacles  and  difficulties,  usually  augments  and  multiplies 
them.* 

*'  Prudent  physicians,  also,  fear  to  employ  too  powerful  remedies, 
because  these  often  drive  the  disease  and  the  life  from  the  body  at  the 
same  time,  and  for  the  greater  safety's  sake,  they  prefer  the  use  of 
gentler  means. 

**  If  his  excellency  and  the  council  of  the  army  act  thus,  the  hearts 
of  the  well-disposed  subjects  of  England  will  unite  in  reciprocal  friend- 
ship, better  and  more  powerful  to  consolidate  a  state  than  the  heaviest 
chains  of  iron. 

**  The  States-general  think  that  the  kingdom  of  England  will  be  in- 
vincible, if  his  excellency,  as  well  as  the  council  of  the  army,  will 
proceed  on  foundations  so  equitable  to  the  world  and  so  agreeable  to 
God,  and  which  are  besides  so  conformable  to  the  character  of  the  Eng- 
lish nation,  and  to  the  situation  of  its  affairs.  Finally,  the  States- 
general  entreat  his  excellency  and  the  council  of  the  army  to  embrace 
and  employ  the  said  means,  so  that  the  king  may  be  enlarged  from  his 
prison  and  restored  to  liberty." 

III.  JPHrst  Despatch  from  Messieurs  the  Embassadors -Extraordinary 

in  England  to  the  States-  General, 

"  High  and  mighty  Lords  : 

"  On  arriving  here  on  the  5th*  instant,  towards  evening,  we  were 
received  by  the  master  of  the  ceremonies  of  parliament  with  many  ex- 
cuses, and  we  immediately  requested  and  insisted  upon  an  audienee 
for  the  next  day.  On  the  6th,  early  in  the  morning,  we  requested, 
through  our  secretaries  and  the  master  of  the  ceremonies,  to  be  pre- 
sented to  both  houses  of  parliament.  In  reply,  the  speaker  of  the  up- 
per house  sent  word  to  us,  that  the  said  house  had  adjourned  to  Monday, 
and  the  speaker  of  the  house  of  commons  intimated  that,  notwithstand- 
ing some  particular  obstacles,  he  would  present  our  request,  and  en- 
deavor to  obtain  assent  to  it.  Our  secretaries  having  waited  for  the 
answer,  the  speaker  let  us  know  in  the  afternoon  that  the  house  had  not 

•  New  Style. 


been  able  to  sit  in  the  morning,  because  all  the  judges,  who  form  part 
of  It,  had  had  to  attend  the  high  court  of  justice,  and  that  for  this 
reason  the  lower  house  also  had  been  obliged  to  adjourn  to  Monday 
next.  Learning  afterwards,  that  on  the  same  day  the  said  court  of 
justice  had  pronounced  sentence  of  death  against  the  king,  in  his  own 
presence,  we  succeeded,  on  Sunday  the  7th  instant  (although  all  occu- 
pations that  do  not  relate  to  religious  worship  are  set  aside  on  this  day), 
after  niuch  trouble,  in  obtaining  in  the  morning,  first,  a  private  audi- 
ence of  the  speaker  of  the  lower  house,  then,  one  of  that  of  the  upper 
house  ;  and,  at  last,  in  the  afternoon  (but  not  without  great  difficulty) 
we  were  admitted  to  the  presence  of  general  Fairfax,  lieutenant-gene- 
rai  Cromwell,  and  the  principal  officers  of  the  army,  who  were  at  the 
same  time  assembled  at  the  general's  house.  We  made  all  possible  re- 
presentations to  the  said  speakers,  general,  and  lieutenant-general  as 
well  in  private  as  when  assembled  together  ;  we  supported  our  solici- 
tations with  the  most  powerful  arguments  we  could  devise,  to  obtain  a 
reprieve  of  the  king's  execution  (which,  it  was  said,  was  fixed  for 
Monday),  until  we  should  have  been  heard  by  the  parliament  •  but  we 
only  received  different  answers,  dictated  by  the  disposition  or  the 
temper  of  each  of  them. 

♦♦  On  Monday  the  8th,  early  in  the  morning,  we  sent  again  to  the 
speakers  of  both  houses,  to  urge  them  to  obtain  an  audiSce  for  us- 
and  after  our  secretaries,  together  with  the  master  of  the  ceremonies 
had  been  kept  waiting  at  Westminster  till  the  afternoon,  we  were  all 
at  once  informed,  scarcely  ten  minutes  before  the  time,  that  the  two 
houses  would  receive  us  before  they  went  to  dinner,  and  that  we  were 
to  go  at  two  o'clock  to  the  upper  house,  and  at  three  to  the  house  of 
commons.  We  acted  according  to  this  intimation,  and  went  to  the  up- 
per house,  where  there  were  very  few  peers,  as  well  as  to  the  house  of 
commons,  where  sat  about  eighty  members.  After  having  verbally 
stated  and  delivered  in  writing  the  substance  of  our  instructions,  tend- 
ing principally  to  have  the  king's  execution  postponed  until  we  should 
in  a  second  audience,  or  in  conferences,  have  had  opportunities  to  state 
more  powerful  grounds  to  induce  them  to  grant  him  his  life,  or  at  least 
not  to  proceed  precipitately  to  execute  the  sentence  of  death,  we  were 
answered  by  the  two  speakers  that  our  proposal  should  be  taken  into 
consideration. 

"  The  members  of  the  upper  house  voted,  that  conferences  on  this 
subject,  between  the  two  houses,  should  immediately  take  place  •  but 
as  the  day  was  already  far  advanced,  and  as  the  members  of  the  house 
ot  Commons,  as  soon  as  our  audience  was  over,  rose  to  depart  even 
before  we  had  left  the  anteroom,  into  which  we  had  been  conducted 
on  our  way  out,  we  with  all  speed  had  our  proposal  translated  into 
l!.nglish,  and  delivered  to  the  speaker  of  the  lower  house,  and  after- 
wards to  the  speaker  of  the  upper  house. 

♦«  Yet,  having  seen  yesterday,  as  we  passed  by  Whitehall,  that  pre- 
parations were  making,  which  were  said  to  be  for  the  execution,  and 
having  conferred  for  a  long  time  this  morning  with  the  commissioners 
ot  the  crown  of  Scotland,  to  save,  if  possible,  the  king's  life,  we  still 
continued  to  request  of  parliament,  through  our  secretaries,  either  an 
answer  or  pother  audience  ;  and  endeavored,  by  the  intervention  of 

41 


482 


APPENDIX. 


' 


n  ^ 


the  Scottish  commissioners,  to  speak  once  more  to  the  general,  and  met 
him  about  noon  at  his  secretary's  house,  at  Whitehall.  The  general 
was  at  length  touched  by  our  animated  and  pressing  entreaties,  and  de- 
clared that  he  would  go  directly  to  Westminster,  and  recommend  to 
parliament  to  grant  the  answer  and  the  reprieve  we  requested,  and  that 
he  would  take  a  few  officers  of  note  with  him  to  support  the  application. 

"  But  we  found,  in  front  of  the  house  in  which  we  had  just  spoken 
with  the  general,  about  two  hundred  horsemen ;  and  we  learned,  as 
well  on  our  way  as  on  reaching  home,  that  all  the  streets,  passages, 
and  squares  of  London  were  occupied  by  troops,  so  that  no  one  could 
pass,  and  that  the  approaches  of  the  city  were  covered  with  cavalry,  so 
as  to  prevent  any  one  from  coming  in  or  going  out.  We  could  not,  and 
we  knew  not  in  consequence,  what  further  to  do.  Two  days  before, 
as  well  previous  to  as  after  our  audience,  we  had,  by  trustworthy 
persons,  been  assured  that  no  proceeding  or  intercession  in  the  world 
could  succeed,  and  that  God  alone  could  prevent  the  execution  resolved 
upon ;  and  so  the  Scottish  commissioners,  with  great  pains,  had  also 
told  us.  And  so  it  proved  ;  for,  the  same  day,  between  two  and  three 
o'clock,  the  king  was  taken  to  a  scaffold  covered  with  black,  erected 
before  Whitehall.  His  majesty,  accompanied  by  the  bishop  of  London 
who,  it  is  said,  had  that  morning,  at  six  o'clock,  administered  to  him 
the  holy  sacrament  and  consolations  of  religion,  after  having  said  a  few 
words,  gave  up  the  garter,  the  blue  riband  and  his  cloak,  took  his  coat 
off  himself,  and  showed  a  great  deal  of  firmness  in  all  his  conduct. 
The  king,  having  laid  himself  down,  his  head  was  cut  off,  and  held  up 
to  the  gaze  of  the  assembled  crowd. 

"  This  is  what,  to  our  great  regret,  we  are  obliged  to  announce  to 
your  high  mightinesses ;  and  we  declare  that  we  have  employed  all 
possible  diligence,  without  intermission  and  with  all  our  power,  to 
acquit  ourselves  of  your  high  mightinesses'  commission,  in  seeking  to 
prevent  the  execution  of  this  so  fatal  sentence.  Meantime,  as  in  this 
country  all  kinds  of  reports  are  put  forth,  for  and  against,  according  to 
every  one's  fancy,  and  as  they  are  often  misinterpreted  and  embellished 
or  exaggerated,  particularly  now  all  minds  are  so  excited,  we  pray 
your  high  mightinesses,  in  case  you  should  receive  reports  contrary 
to  or  more  alarming  than  the  present,  to  place  no  faith  in  them  ;  and 
to  believe  us,  who  came  here  at  the  peril  of  our  lives,  and  have  neg- 
lected none  of  the  duties  with  which  we  were  charged. 

«'  We  dare  not  send  your  high  mightinesses  the  further  particulars 
that  we  learn  in  many  quarters,  confidential  or  public,  on  this  event, 
as  the  passage  is  very  difficult,  all  the  sea-ports  being  closed.  We  will 
only  add  that  it  is  said  the  king,  on  the  scaffold,  recommended  that 
religion  should  be  strengthened  by  taking  the  advice  of  Roman-catho- 
lic divines,  and  that  the  rights  of  the  prince  his  son  should  be  respect- 
ed ;  adding,  that  he  thought  himself  in  conscience  innocent  of  the 
blood  which  had  been  shed,  except  of  that  of  the  earl  of  Strafford.  Im- 
mediately after  the  king's  death,  it  was  announced  and  proclaimed 
throughout  the  city  by  sound  of  trumpet. 

"  We  beg  the  Almighty  to  grant  a  long  prosperity  to  your  high 
mightinesses,  and  to  your  high  and  mighty  government, 


Signed, 
«« London  February  9th,  1C49." 


"  Alb.  Joachim. 


APPENDIX. 


483 


IV.    Second  Dispatch, 

"  High  and  Mighty  Lords ; 
"By  our  first  dispatch  of  the  9th  instant,  we  minutely  informed  your 
high  mightinesses  of  all  the  proceedings  we  had  taken  with  the  princi- 
pal functionaries  and  other  eminent  personages  in  this  country,  as  well 
as  of  the  solicitations  we  addressed  to  them,  and  the  proposals  we  trans- 
mitted publicly  and  in  writing  to  the  two  houses  of  parliament  (of 
which  we  herein  insert  a  copy,  not  having  had  time  to  append  it  to  our 
preceding  despatch,  which  was  sent  by  an  unexpected  opportunity), 
proposals  which  were  left  unanswered,  as  was  our  request  to  be  admit- 
ted to  a  second  audience,  and  which  were  followed  by  the  immediate 
execution  of  the  king,  and  the  prohibition  to  any  one  whomsoever, 
under  pain  of  high  treason,  to  take  upon  himself  anv  authority  in  the 
name  of  monarchical  power,  or  to  acknowledge  and'favor  the  govern- 
ment of  the  prince  of  Wales,  or  any  other  pretender  to  the  royal  suc- 
cession. 

"  Already,  before  this  event,  we  apprehended,  and  our  fears  have 
since  been  realized,  that  it  had  been  resolved  among  the  authorities 
here  to  abolish  entirely  the  monarchical  government,  and  to  establish 
one  of  a  quite  different  nature  ;  for  it  is  publicly  said  here  that  the  de- 
scendants of  the  late  king  will  be,  without  any  exception,  excluded  for 
ever  from  any  sovereignty  in  this  country,  though  it  is  not  ascertained 
what  sort  of  government  is  to  replace  that  which  is  abolished. 

**  We  have  also  just  heard  that  already  commissioners  are  appointed 
by  parliament  to  go  with  all  speed  to  Scotland,  where  they  presume 
and  announce  being  able  to  direct  affairs  according  to  the  system  adopt- 
ed in  England.  It  is  also  said,  publicly  as  well  as  in  private,  that  the 
members  of  the  upper  house  show  themselves  displeased  at  the  king's 
execution,  and  do  not  at  all  agree  with  the  house  of  commons  on  the 
changes  to  be  introduced  in  the  government ;  on  the  other  hand,  it  is 
thought  that  Scotland  wishes  to  remain  faithful  to  monarchical  govern- 
ment, and  to  its  old  institutions.  It  is  difficult  to  foresee  what  will  be 
the  issue  of  all  these  combinations  and  changes  in  the  two  countries  ; 
and  though  public  tranquillity  is  nowise  disturbed  in  this  capital,  in 
consequence  of  the  strict  watch  kept  by  the  numerous  military  posts, 
we  are  ignorant  what,  in  this  respect,  is  the  situation  of  the  provinces. 
"  Yesterday,  we  received  a  visit  from  the  lieutenant-general  Crom- 
well, who  spoke  to  us  with  infinite  respec*  of  the  government  of  your 
high  mightinesses  ;  among  other  subjects,  he  introduced  that  of  reli- 
gion, giving  us  to  understand  that,  with  the  concurrence  of  your  high 
mightinesses,  it  would  be  as  possible  as  necessary  to  re-establish  it  here 
upon  a  better  system,  and  to  give  it  a  better  organization. 

**  The  earl  of  Denbigh,  who  came  also  yesterday  to  see  us,  spoke  at 
great  length  on  different  questions  relating  to  the  government,  past  and 
to  come  ;  whence  we  concluded  that  there  are  still  many  affairs  to  ar- 
range, and  that  the  measures  they  purpose  to  take  do  not  afford  any 
probable  conjecture  as  to  their  issue  and  success.  As  the  unhappy 
event  of  the  king's  execution  puts  an  end  to  the  negotiation  with  which 
our  extraordinary  embassy  was  charged,  we  will  jointly  use  our  en- 
deavors that  the  affairs  of  our  mission  may  suffer  as  little  as  possible. 


484 


APPENDIX. 


and  may  continue  to  be  treated  according  to  the  interests  and  to  the 
entire  satisfaction  of  your  high  mightinesses. 

**  The  high  court  of  justice  having  terminated  its  functions,  other 
extraordinary  tribunals  have  been  instituted,  to  try  the  peers  and 
other  illustrious  state  prisoners,  such  as  the  duke  of  Hamilton,  the 
earl  of  Holland,  lord  Goring,  &c.  Those  of  a  lower  rank  will  be  tried 
by  the  ordinary  tribunals,  and  the  prisoners  of  war  by  a  court-martial. 

*'  Among  other  matters  that  are  at  present  treated  of  in  parliament, 
it  is  proposed  that  our  people  should  enjoy  here  all  the  rights  of  navi- 
gation, commerce,  manufacture,  trades,  and  market,  equally  and  in 
common  with  the  English  nation.  We  were  not  ignorant  of  these  dis- 
positions, and  moreover  were  given  to  understand  that  they  would  be 
disposed  to  make  more  full  and  minute  proposals  to  us  on  this  subject. 
We  think  we  hereby  give  your  high  mightinesses  an  evident  proof  that 
people  here  are  occupying  themselves  with  questions  quite  out  of  the 
ordinary  track  of  affairs. 

"  We  implore  the  Almighty  to  keep  in  long  prosperity  the  govern- 
ment of  your  high  mightinesses. 

Signed,  •*  Alb.  Joachim, 

"  A.  Pauw 

"  London,  February  12th,  1549." 


V.   Third  Despatch. 


tt 


High  and  Mighty  Lords  : 

•'  After  the  bloody  catastrophe  which  put  an  end  to  the  king's  life, 
an  event  of  which  our  despatches  of  the  9th  and  12th  instant  informed 
your  high  mightinesses,  we  resolved  to  keep  within  our  lodgings,  after 
the  example  of  other  ambassadors,  and  of  the  Scottish  commissioners. 
The  French  ambassador  and  the  Scottish  commissioners,  however, 
having  paid  us  a  visit  before  this  event,  and  the  Spanish  ambassa- 
dor having  repeatedly  done  us  the  same  honor  before  and  after, 
we  could  do  no  otherwise  than  return  these  acts  of  kindness ;  we  ac- 
cordingly acquitted  ourselves  of  this  duty  on  the  13th,  and  we  remark- 
ed that  their  excellencies  were  deeply  affected  by  this  great  event, 
though  the  French  ambassador  had  assured  us  beforehand  of  his  per- 
fect knowledge  of  the  events  which  would  take  place. 

**  The  ambassador  of  Spain,  Don  Alfonso  de  Cardenas,  told  us  that 
the  day  after  this  fatal  event  he  had  received  orders  from  the  king  his 
master  to  intervene  in  the  affairs  of  this  country ;  but  at  present  he  is 
of  opinion,  as  well  as  the  French  ambassador,  that  by  the  unexpected 
death  of  the  king  of  England,  their  diplomatic  functions  and  character 
having  ceased,  they  cannot  act  any  longer  in  their  high  office,  nor  in- 
terfere in  any  respect  until  they  have  received  fresh  orders  from  their 
court.  The  Scottish  commissioners  have  sent  two  despatches  to  their 
constituents,  that  is,  to  the  Scottish  parliament  at  present  assembled ; 
they  expect  an  answer  to  their  first  despatch  in  the  course  of  the  week, 
and  will  not  act  till  they  are  duly  authorized. 

**  The  general  opinion  is  that  the  government  will  undergo  an  entire 
change ;  that  the  royal  family  will  be  set  aside,  and  another  form  of 
government  introduced ;    that  perhaps  they  will  imitate  that  of  the 


APPENDIX. 


485 


commonwealth  of  Venice,  of  the  United  Provinces,  or  some  other  re- 
publican government.  We  are  informed  that,  in  fact,  nine  members 
of  the  house  of  peers  and  eighteen  of  that  of  the  house  of  commons  are 
to  meet  in  commission  to  draw  up  conjointly  the  basis  of  a  fresh  con- 
stitution. The  13th  of  this  month  was  the  day  appointed  for  the  meet- 
ing of  the  king's  judges,  in  a  court  of  justice  at  Westminster-hall ;  but 
we  have  just  been  informed  that  the  meeting  did  not  take  place,  the 
judges  having  alleged  that  they  were  not  sufficiently  qualified  for  this, 
their  functions  having  expired  at  the  king's  death,  and  that  they  can- 
not resolve  to  accept  so  suddenly  their  new  nominations  made  by  par- 
liament, nor  change  the  title  of  their  acts  of  procedure  and  other  ne- 
cessary formalities,  such  as  those  adopted  by  parliament  on  the  29th  of 
January,  164S,  and  which  we  transmitted  to  your  high  mightinesses  by 
our  despatch  of  the  9th  instant.  We  continue  in  the  most  complete 
uncertainty  as  to  the  issue  of  the  events  which,  from  the  diversity  of 
opinions  and  other  fortuitous  occurrences,  may  still  undergo  vicissi- 
tudes that  it  is  impossible  to  submit  to  any  probable  conjecture ;  we 
shall  therefore  merely  remark,  that  hitherto  public  tranquillity  has  not 
been  in  any  way  disturbed ;  and  we  pray  your  high  mightinesses  to 
attach  no  other  value  to  our  information  than  that  which  maybe  merit- 
ed by  our  efforts  to  discover  truth  in  this  maze  of  true  and  false  reports 
which  we  receive  on  all  sides,  and  which  only  leave  us  the  satisfaction 
of  confidentially  informing  your  high  mightinesses  of  what  we  have 
been  able  to  collect  in  our  zeal  for  your  service. 

Signed,  **  Adrien  Pauw, 

"  Alb.  Joachim. 
"  London,  February  15th,  1549." 

VI.   Fourth  Dispatch. 

*'  High  and  Mighty  Lords : 
"  The  information  contained  in  our  last  dispatch,  of  the  15th  of  this 
month,  having  appeared  sufficiently  important  to  us,  we  took  care  to 
forward  it  to  your  high  mightinesses  by  a  safe  and  speedy  opportunity ; 
yet  the  wind  having  since  that  time  been  very  contrary,  we  fear  it  did 
not  reach  its  destination  so  speedily  as  we  had  hoped.  Since  that  we 
have  witnessed  events  of  still  greater  importance.  On  the  1 6th  of  this 
month,  the  house  of  commons,  notwithstanding  the  expectation  and  the 
wish  of  the  commissioners  of  both  houses,  sitting  in  committee,  and 
which  requested  to  be  consulted  on  all  the  measures  to  be  taken,  de- 
creed that  the  house  of  lords  should  from  that  period  cease  its  functions, 
and  be  no  longer  consulted  or  looked  upon  as  a  deliberative  body,  or  as 
constituting  an  authority  in  anything  concerning  the  affairs  of  the 
kingdom  ;  so  that,  notwithstanding  that  the  lords  and  princes  still  re- 
tain their  titles  and  dignities,  and  are  qualified  to  occupy  any  office 
whatever,  there  will  in  future  be  only  one  sole  house  of  commons  as 
the  English  parliament ;  and  the  peers  will  no  longer  be  admitted  in 
it  but  as  deputies  elected  by  the  counties.  Next  day,  the  17th,  the 
house  of  commons  by  a  decree  abolished  for  ever  the  oflSce  of  king  in 
England.  We  are  informed,  moreover,  that  the  parliament  thus  re- 
duced to  one  house  of  commons  alone,  will    meet  once  every  two 

41* 


I 


486 


APPENDIX. 


APPENDIX. 


487 


years  for  a  limited  time ;  and  that  permanent  executive  power  will  be 
vested  in  a  council  of  thirty  or  forty  members,  of  whom  about  twelve 
may  be  peers.  The  council  thus  organized  will  represent,  during  the 
recess  of  parliament,  the  sovereign  power  of  the  kingdom.  This  last 
measure  is  not,  however,  so  definitively  resolved  as  the  two  above-men- 
tioned. The  house  of  commons  is  becoming  by  degrees  complete  by 
the  return  of  several  members  who  resume  their  seats  on  signing  an 
expurgatory  act,  by  which  they  declare  that  they  renounce  the  opi- 
nions which  heretofore  placed  them  in  opposition  to  their  colleagues. 
It  is  also  said  that  at  an  early  day  new  judges  for  the  higher  courts  will 
be  elected,  and  new  justices  of  peace. 

♦♦  The  earl  of  Denbigh,  speaker  of  the  house  of  lords,  not  having 
been  able  to  send  us  a  message  on  the  17th,  came  to  pay  us  a  visit  on 
the  1 8th,  to  inform  us  in  what  manner  had  been  carried  into  effect  the 
dissolution  of  this  assembly,  and  to  deliver  the  la<5t  commands  he  had 
received  from  their  lordships,  in  transmitting  to  us  their  answer  to  our 
proposals.  After  having  read  them  to  us,  he  gave  us  the  copy,  which 
we  enclose  in  the  present  dispatch,  retaining  himself  the  original  ma- 
nuscript as  his  personal  quittance,  adding,  that  it  was,  at  the  same  time, 
the  last  deliberative  act  of  the  upper  house,  which  had  not  wished  to 
dissolve  until  it  had  given  this  mark  of  respect  to  your  high  mighti- 
nesses. 

"  The  house  of  commons  also  sent  to  ask  us,  by  its  own  messenger, 
when  it  would  suit  us  to  present  ourselves  to  them  to  receive  their 
answer  to  our  proposals.  To  which  we  replied,  that  as  soon  as  the 
house  would  acquaint  us  with  the  time  appointed  for  this  audience,  we 
would  attend. 

*'  Since  the  unhappy  event  of  the  king's  death,  we  had  not  insisted 
upon  an  answer ;  ana  though  we  had  heard  no  more  about  it,  we  learn 
at  this  moment  that  an  outline  of  this  answer  has  been  published  in  the 
Gazette,  without  any  official  communication  of  it  having  been  sent  us. 
A  report  had  previously  been  spread,  and  even  printed,  that  we  had  re- 
quested that  our  proposals  should  not  be  made  public.  Nothing  can  be 
more  false  than  this  assertion  ;  without  having  in  any  way  interfered  in 
the  matter,  or  having  even  mentioned  a  word  on  the  subject,  we  left  it 
entirely  to  the  discretion  of  the  two  houses,  to  each  of  which  our  pro- 
posals were  separately  addressed  in  writing,  with  the  necessary  form. 
We  have  remarked,  besides,  th|it  the  reply  made  by  us  to  the  speaker 
of  the  house  of  commons  when"  our  proposals  were  delivered,  has  not 
been  inserted  in  the  Gazette  in  its  real  tenor,  and  it  has  been  hitherto 
impossible  for  us  to  discover  whether  such  publications  appear  with  or 
without  the  sanction  of  the  superior  authorities. 

**  On  the  16th  of  this  month,  some  troops  of  infantry  and  cavalry 
marched  hence  to  Bristol ;  and  there  is  a  report  that  in  that  town,  as 
well  as  at  Gloucester,  some  indignation  has  be  enexpressed  against  the 
proceedings  of  parliament.  Here,  however,  and  in  the  neighborhood, 
all  is  quiet. 

**  To-day,  being  the  day  appointed  for  the  appearance  of  the  im- 
peached lords,  before  the  newly-created  hi^h  court  at  Westminster- 
hall,  Goring,  Capel,  Hamilton,  Holland,  and  sir  John  Owen,  these  lords, 
with  the  exception  of  the  earl  of  Holland,  who  is  ill,  appeared  before 


that  court,  and  after  having  heard  each  in  his  turn,  the  charges  brought 
against  him,  and  given  in  answers  to  them,  were  sent  back  to  prison  to 
await  another  summons  for  the  continuation  of  their  trial. 

Signed,  *'  Adrien  Pauw, 

"  Alb.  Joachim." 

Vn.  Fifth  Dispatch. 

"  High  and  Mighty  Lords  : 
*'  The  commissioners  of  the  kingdom  of  Scotland,  having  received 
dispatches  from  their  parliament,  sent  word  of  their  contents  to  us  last 
evening  at  a  somewhat  irregular  hour,  and  forwarded  to  us  the  procla- 
mation, the  decree,  and  the  letter,  copies  of  which  accompany  this  dis- 
patch. Your  high  mightinesses  will  learn  by  their  contents,  that  the 
prince  of  Wales  has  just  been  proclaimed  by  the  Scottish  parliament, 
king  of  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Ireland.  The  commissioners  besides 
informed  us,  that  a  gentleman  had  been  immediately  sent  abroad  with 
copies  of  these  decrees  ;  that  the  proclamation  of  them  had  been  made 
in  every  direction,  and  that  they  were  preparing  forthwith  to  send  an 
envoy,  furnished  with  the  largest  instructions  to  his  majesty.  It  is  ru- 
mored here,  that  the  parliament  is  much  displeased  at  this  measure ; 
and  particularly  because  the  Scots  did  not  content  themselves  with 
proclaiming  him  kin^  of  Scotland  only,  but  had  added  to  his  titles 
"  king  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland."  Levies  of  troops  are  going  on 
here  in  secret,  and  are  constantly  dispatched  towards  Scotland  and  other 
places,  which  makes  it  to  be  presumed  that  in  the  latter  engagements 
many  men  were  killed.  The  capital  yet  continues  to  enjoy  perfect 
tranquillity,  and  exhibits  no  appearance  of  sedition  ;  the  complements 
of  the  men-of-war  are  being  made  up  one  after  another,  and  we  should 
not  be  surprised  if  in  a  very  short  time  there  were  nearly  thirty  vessels 
perfectly  equipped  and  ready  for  sea ;  this  number,  it  is  confidently 
said,  will  hereafter  be  increased  to  seventy,  and  it  is  added  that  three 
commissioners  of  parliament  will  take  the  command  or  superintendence 
of  this  fleet ;  as  to  that,  there  seems  no  longer  any  mention  made  of  the 
earl  of  Warwick  as  commander.  Last  Monday,  the  22d  instant,  the 
gentleman-usher  came  to  inform  us  that  on  the  Wednesday  or  Thurs- 
day following,  we  should  be  requested  to  go  to  parliament  to  receive, 
before  the  whole  house,  an  answer  to  our  proposals.  On  Wednesday 
he  informed  us  that  the  audience  would  take  place  on  Thursday  even- 
ing ;  and  accordingly  on  that  day  we  were  conducted  in  state  to  West- 
minster-hall. Having  been  immediately  introduced  into  the  house  of 
commons,  we  sat  down  on  the  chairs  placed  for  us,  and  the  speaker 
having  read  to  us  the  answer  of  the  house,  gave  us  a  copy  of  it.  Where- 
upon, we  answered,  in  a  few  words,  that  when  we  had  read  it,  we 
would  ourselves  transmit  it  to  our  government,  whom  it  was  our  inten- 
tion, with  the  least  possible  delay,  to  rejoin,  and  that  we  availed  our- 
selves of  the  present  opportunity  to  take  leave  of  parliament  in  our 
quality  of  ambassadors-extraordinary.  The  house  that  day  was  much 
fuller  than  at  our  first  audience,  on  account  of  the  return  of  several  of 
their  absent  members,  and  the  restoration  of  many  dissentient  members 
who  had  successively  come  to  resume  their  seats  under  the  expurgatory 
act.     The  nomination  of  a  greater  number  of  members  has  been  one  of 


488 


APPENDIX. 


the  first  cares  of  the  new  house  ;  after  which  they  proceeded  to  elect 
the  thirty-eight  members  of  whom  the  state-council  of  the  kingdom  is 
to  be  composed,  and  whose  names  and  qualities  your  high  mightinesses 
will  read  in  the  enclosed  Gazette.  The  judges  of  the  kingdom  also  re- 
sumed their  sittings  last  week,  and  held  their  usual  term. 

"  The  day  before  our  last  audience,  and  consequently  after  the  notifi- 
cation we  had  received  of  it,  we  received  the  letters  of  your  high 
mightinesses  of  the  22d  instant ;  and  having  already  made  preparations 
for  our  departure,  we  shall  effect  it  as  soon  as  possible,  wishing  to  re- 
turn as  soon  as  we  can  to  your  high  mightinesses,  to  communicate  the 
answer  we  have  received,  and  render  a  detailed  account  of  our  mission, 
which  has  been  accompanied  and  followed  by  a  multitude  of  incidents 
and  circumstances,  which  in  the  present  precarious  state  of  affairs,  we 
do  not  think  proper  to  trust  to  paper.  Contrary  winds  and  severe  frosts 
having  impeded  the  navigation  of  the  Thames,  we  cannot  fix  the  day 
of  our  departure;  but  we  will  seize  the  first  opportunity  to  return, 
either  directly  or  by  way  of  Dover  and  Calais,  notwithstanding  the  in- 
conveniences which  this  last  passage  is  said  to  present. 

"  The  state  prisoners,  viz.,  the  duke  of  Hamilton,  lord  Goring,  lord 
Capel,  and  sir  John  Owen,  have  already  appeared  several  times  before 
the  high  court  of  justice.  The  first  put  in  a  bill  of  exceptions,  but  it 
was  rejected,  and  he  was  ordered  to  prepare  his  defence,  and  counsel 
were  assigned  to  him ;  the  three  others  have  confined  themselves  within 
the  terms  of  their  defence,  particularly  lord  Capel,  against  whom,  as  to 
the  capitulation  and  the  quarter  granted,  general  Fairfax  and  commis- 
sary-general Iretonwere  heard  as  witnesses,  appearing  for  this  specially 
before  the  court.  All  these  circumstances  make  one  entertain  fears  as 
to  the  fate  of  those  noble  personages,  who  are  considered  to  be  in  im- 
minent danger.  We  think  it  proper  to  inform  your  high  mightinesses, 
that  the  present  is  the  sixth  dispatch  we  have  sent  you,  the  two  pre- 
ceding ones  being  of  the  15th  and  19th  instant;  the  delays  occasioned 
by  the  contrary  winds  and  the  frost  give  us  reason  to  fear  that  all  may 
not  have  reached  your  high  mightinesses. 

Signed,  "  Adrian  Pauw, 

"  Alb.  Joachim. 

«*  London,  February  26th,  1649.** 


INDEX. 


489 


INDEX. 


Abbot,  Geo.,  Archbp.  of  Canter- 
bury, suspended,  43. 

Absolution,  its  position  on  the  Con- 
tinent at  the  accession  of  Charles 
I.,  26  ;  its  position  in  England  at 
and  preceding  the  same  period, 
27,  28,  29 ;  its  position  in  Eng- 
land under  Strafford,  67 ;  at- 
tempts made  by  the  king  to  ex- 
tend it,  71 ;  its  powerlessness  in 
1641,  112. 

AgitatorSy  or  delegates,  appointed 
oy  the  common  soldiers  of  the 
army  to  represent  their  views, 
342 ;  draw  up  *'  the  case  of  the 
army,"  375. 

"  Agreement  of  the  people,"  a  plan 
for  a  republic  drawn  up  by  Ire- 
ton,  432. 

Alford,  Mr.,  his  speech  on  the 
amended  bill  of  rights,  50. 

Ambassadors  of  England  insulted 
in  foreign  courts,  68. 

Annandale,  Earl  of,  declares  for 
the  king,  305. 

Antrim,  Earl  of,  arrested  by  the 
parliamentary  forces  in  Ireland, 
and  discovery  of  his  plot  against 
the  parliament,  242. 

Arbitrary  tribunals  abolished,  134. 

Argyle,  earl  of,  embraces  the  cause 
of  the  covenant,  96 ;  retires  to 
Kinneil  Castle  to  avoid  being  ar- 
rested by  the  king,  137  ;  expla- 
nation of  the  affair,  138 ;  is  cre- 
ated duke  of  Argyle,  ib. ;  arrives 
in  London  to  co-operate  with  the 
independents,  288 ;  character- 
ized, ib. ;  concludes  a  treaty  with 
the  Scottish  royalists,  419. 

Aristocracy,  its  condition  on  the 


Continent  at  the  accession  of 
Charles  I.,  26;  its  condition  in 
England  at  and  preceding  the 
same  period,  27  ;  courted  by  the 
king  in  his  difficulties,  72 ;  a 
portion  of  it  sides  with  the  peo- 
ple, 73  ;  takes  alarm  at  the  pro- 
gress of  the  church,  79. 
Army,  parliamentary,  formation  of, 
decreed,  184 ;  marches  from  Lon- 
don to  attack  the  king,  187 ;  re- 
viewed on  Turnham-green,  193 ; 
another  army  raised  for  parlia- 
ment, 217  ;  reviewed  on  Houns- 
low-heath  by  Essex,  223 ;  its 
composition  in  1644,  254 ;  capi- 
tulates to  that  of  the  king  in 
Cornwall,  265 ;  characterized, 
314  ;  petitions  parliament,  339  ; 
several  of  its  officers  summoned 
to  the  bar  of  the  house  of  com- 
mons, 340  ;  demands  the  restora- 
tion of  Cromwell  to  command, 
341 ;  petitions  parliament  for  re- 
dress, ib. ;  its  increasing  power, 
342 ;  opens  communications  with 
the  king,  ib.  ;  several  re^itnents 
mutiny,  343 ;  under  the  direction 
of  Cromwell,  marches  towards 
London,  352 ;  draws  up  an  hum- 
ble remonstrance  to  parliament, 
ib. ;  demands  the  expulsion  of 
Holies  and  other  members,  ib. ; 
its  conciliatory  treatment  of  the 
king,  355;  makes  proposals  to 
the  king,  358 ;  marches  towards 
London,  360;  coolness  between 
it  and  the  king,  362 ;  reviewed  on 
Hounslow  Heath,  364 ;  marches 
upon  London,  ib.  ;  societies 
formed  in,  against  the  king,  and 


490 


INDEX. 


LNDEX. 


491 


Cromwell  and  other  officers,  who 
appeared  to  favor  him,  372  ;  ap- 
points new  agents  to  support  its 
particular  views,  373;  its  de- 
mands in  1647,  375 ;  meeting  of 
a  portion  of,  at  Ware,  385 ;  meet- 
ing of  the  officers  and  agitators 
at  head-quarters,  388;  marches 
through  London,  395;  is  quar- 
tered in  various  parts  of  London, 
ib  ;  petition  from,  calling  for  the 
punishment  of  the  king,  421  ;  is 

Cut  in  motion  against  the  pres- 
yterians,  427;  its  violent  pro- 
ceedings against  the  presbyterian 
members  of  parliament,  429. 

Arnell,  Richard,  shot  for  mutiny, 
386. 

Arundel,  Earl  of,  released  from  the 
Tower  on  demand  of  the  lords, 
41 ;  again  arrested  by  the  king, 
42. 

Ashburnham,  Mr.,  accompanies 
the  king  in  his  flight  from  Ox- 
ford, 321 ;  characterized,  357  ; 
his  insolent  demeanor  towards 
the  parliamentary  officers,  361 ; 
accompanies  the  king  in  his  flight 
from  Hampton  Court,  380;  his 
preliminary  interview  with  Ham- 
mond, 381 ;  is  ordered  to  quit  the 
Isle  of  Wight,  391. 

Astley,  Lord,  defeated  at  Stow  by 
the  parliamentary  forces,  319. 

Atherton  Moor,  battle  of,  213. 

Aubigny,  Lady,  her  connexion  with 
W^tUer's  plot,  210. 

Axtell,  Col.,  his  violent  conduct  at 
the  king's  trial,  443  et  seq. 

Balfour,  Sir  W.,  tampered  with 
by  the  king,  128 ;  dismissed  from 
the  government  of  the  Tower, 

151. 
Bampton  Bush,  battle  of,  292. 
Bancroft,  Bp.  of  Oxford,  his  death, 

112. 
Bancroft,  Dr.,  maintains  the  supre- 
macy   of   the    church,    73 ;    is 
created  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, 74. 


Barbary  pirates,  make  descents  on 
the  English  and  Irish  coasts,  68. 

Barnstaple  surrenders  to  the  royal 
troops,  215. 

Base  money,  coining  of,  proposed 
by  the  king's  government,  104. 

Basing-House,  taken  by  the  parlia- 
mentary forces,  312. 

Bastwick,  John,  brought  before  the 
star-chamber,  87  ;  his  trial,  ib. ; 
his  sentence,  ib. ;  its  execution, 
88  ;  his  condemnation  voted  ille- 
gal by  the  house  of  commons, 
116;  his  triumphant  return  to 
London,  117. 

Bath,  surrenders  to  the  royal 
troops,  215 ;  taken  by  the  parlia- 
mentary forces,  312. 

Batten,  Admiral,  cannonades  Bur- 
lington, 200. 

Bedford,  Earl  of,  his  death,  128. 

Bellasis,  Sir  H.,  imprisoned  by  the 
king  forhisliberty  of  speech,  104. 

Bellievre,  M.  de,  urges  the  king  to 
accept  the  propositions  of  par- 
liament, 329. 

Benyon,  Geo.,  addresses  a  petition 
to  parliament  on  behall'  of  the 
king,  173. 

Berkley,  Sir  John,  characterized, 
357  ;  joins  the  king  by  order  of 
Henrietta  Maria,  ib. ;  his  inter- 
view with  Cromwell  and  other 
leaders  of  the  army,  at  Reading, 
ib.;  his  interview  with  the  king, 
358 ;  his  negotiations  with  the 
army,  ib.;  accompanies  the  king 
in  his  flight  from  Hampton  Court, 
380  ;  his  preliminary  interview 
with  Hammond,  381 ;  waits  on 
Fairfax  and  the  other  generals  at 
Windsor,  388  ;  his  interview 
with  Commandant  Watson,  389 ; 
is  ordered  to  quit  the  Isle  of 
Wi^ht,  391. 

Berwick,  taken  by  Langdale,  402. 

Birch,  Col.,  arrested  by  Col.  Pride, 
429. 

Bishoprics  and  deaneries,  bill  for 
abrogating  them  introduced  into 
the  house  of  commons,  119. 


Bishops,  bill  for  excluding  them 
from  parliament  passed  by  the 
commons,  119;  rejected  by  the 
lords,  ib. ;  further  proceedings 
respecting  the  measure,  150  ; 
some  of  them  draw  up  a  protest 
declaring  null  and  void  all  pro- 
ceedings in  parliament  during 
their  absence  from  it,  151 ;  are 
impeached  and  sent  to  the 
Tower,  152. 
Blake,  Col.,  his  reception  of  the 
parliamentary  commissioners  at 
Wallingford,  272. 
Blechington,  taken  by  Cromwell, 

292. 
Bond,  Denis,  his  speech  in  favor  of 

republicanism,  420. 
Bradshaw,     John,    characterized, 
436  ;    chosen   president   of  the 
high  court  of  commission,  ib. ; 
his  altercations  with  the  king, 
ib.,  et  seq. 
Bray,  Captain,  deprived  of  his  com- 
mand for  mutiny,  386  ;  restored 
to  his  command,  388 
Brentford,  battle  of,  192. 
Brereton,  Sir  Wm.,  continued  in 
his  command  by  parliament,  not- 
withstanding   the    self-denying 
ordinance,  293. 
Bridgewater  surrenders  to  the  royal 
troops,  215  ;  taken  by  the  par- 
liamentary forces,  312. 
Bristol    surrenders    to    the    royal 
troops,  215 ;    surrenders  to  the 
parliamentary  forces,  306. 
Bristol,  Earl  of,  not  summoned  by 
Charles   to    his    second   parlia- 
ment, 38 ;  appeals  to  the  peers 
and  has  his  claim  admitted,  40 ;  is 
impeached  by  the  king,  ib. ;  im- 
peaches    Buckingham,    ib. ;     is 
arrested  by  the  king,  42. 
Brownists,  sect  of,  their  rise,  83  ; 

emigrations,  ib. 
Brook,  Lord,  his  speech  at  Guild- 
hall, 192. 
Buckingham,  Villiers,  Duke  of,  his 
visit    to    Madrid    with    Prince 
Charles,  28 ;  impeached  by  the 


commons,  39;  characterized,  ib.; 
his  answer  to  the  charges  against 
him,  40;  impeached  by  Lord 
Bristol,  ib. ;  fails  in  his  attempt 
upon  the  Isle  of  Re,  44 ;  diffi- 
culties of  his  position,  45  ;  his 
speech  on  the  occasion  of  a  sub- 
sidy being  voted,  47  ;  assassinat- 
ed, 53. 

Buckingham,  Duke  of,  takes  up 
arms  in  support  of  the  king,  405. 

Burleigh,  Lord,  his  advice  to  Queen 
Elizabeth,  45. 

Burley,  Capt,  hanged  at  Newport 
for  a  movement  in  favor  of  the 
king,  .394. 

Burton,  Wm.,  brought  before  the 
star-chamber,  87 ;  his  trial,  ib. ; 
his  sentence,  ib. ;  its  execution, 
88 ;  his  condemnation  voted  ille- 
gal by  the  house  of  commons, 
116  ;  the  public  honors  paid  him 
on  his  return  to  London,  117. 

Burlington  cannonaded  by  Admiral 
Batten,  200. 

Byron,  Sir  Gilbert,  raises  troops  for 
the  king,  in  Nottinghamshire, 
402. 

Byron,  Sir  John,  appointed  gover- 
nor of  the  Tower,  153. 


Cadiz,  expedition  against,  dis- 
patched by  the  king,  38  ;  its 
failure,  ib. 

Caernarvon,  Lord,  his  death  and 
character,  227. 

Cambridge  university,  sends  part 
of  its  plate  to  the  king,  181. 

Canterbury,  royalist  disturbances 
at,  397. 

Capel,  Lord,  appointed  to  attend 
Prince  Charles  into  the  West  of 
England,  291 ;  raises  troops  for 
the  king  in  Hertfordshire,  402. 

Carew,  Mr. ,  sent  to  the  Tower  by 
the  kin^,  105. 

Carew,  Sir  Alexander,  his  trial 
and  execution,  281. 

Carlisle,  taken  by  the  Scots,  303  ; 
taken  by  the  royalist  troops,  402. 

"  Case  of  the  army,"  a  declaration 


492 


INDEX. 


INDEX. 


493 


;^i: 


drawn  up  by  the  discontented 
troops,  375. 

Catholics,  Roman,  join  the  army  of 
Newcastle,  200. 

Catholicism,    its    progress    under 
Laud,  79. 

Censorship  of  a  rigorous  character 
established,  374. 

Challoner,  Mr.,  executed  for  a  plot 
against  the  parliament,  210. 

Charles  I.,  his   accession  to  the 
throne   of  England,  25;  assem- 
bles a  parliament,  ib. ;  his  per- 
sonal character,  26  ;  the  circum- 
stances which  placed  him  in  an- 
tagonism with   his   people,  ib.  ; 
his  visit  to  Spain  previous  to  his 
accession,  28 ;    his  reception  at 
Madrid,  ib.  ;  his  marriage  with 
Henrietta  Maria,  ib. ;  influence  of 
the  union  upon  his  mind,  ib.  ;  his 
position  with  regard  to  parlia- 
ment on    his    accession   to   the 
throne,  34  ;  his  resentment  of  the 
freedom  of  speech  indulged  in 
by  the  house  of  commons,  36 ; 
demands  subsidies,  engaging  to 
redress  real  grievances,  ib.  ;  in- 
dignant at  the  refusal  of  subsi- 
dies, dissolves  parliament,  37  ; 
his  position  with   reference   to 
his  people  at  this  juncture,  ib. ; 
intimates  his  intention  to  govern 
by  himself,  ib. ;  orders  a  loan  to 
be   raised,   ib. ;    directs    severe 
measures    against     the     Roman 
catholics,  38  ;  but  sells  them  dis- 
pensations and  pardons,  ib. ;  calls 
a  second    parliament,   ib. ;   the 
character  of  his  despotism  at  this 
period,  ib.  ;  takes  measures    for 
keeping  the  more  popular  orators 
out  of  parliament,  ib, ;  his  speech 
to  the  commons  on  the  occasion 
of  Buckingham's  impeachment, 
40  ;  forbids  the  judges  to  answer 
the  questions  put  by  the  lords,  in 
the  Earl  of  Bristol's  case,  41; 
sends  Sir  Dudley  Digges  and  Sir 
John    Eliot  to  the  Tower,  ib.  ; 
finds  himself  necessitated  to  re- 


lease them,   as   well    as    Lord 
Arundel,  ib.;  dissolves  his  second 
parliament,  42  ;  and  places  Bris- 
tol and  Arundel  under  arrest,  ib. ; 
nature  of  the  difficulties  in  which 
he  now  found  himself  involved, 
ib. ;   orders   a   fresh  loan   to  be 
raised,  ib. ;  calls  a  third  parlia- 
ment, 45  ;  his  address  to  it,  ib. ; 
the  infatuation  of  the  principles 
on  which  he  proceeded,  46  ;  his 
address  to  the  council    on    the 
occasion  of  a  subsidy  being  an- 
nounced, 47;   takes  umbrage  at 
the   commons   insisting    in   the 
first  instance  upon  a  redress  of 
grievances,   49 ;  assures  parlia- 
ment of    his    determination   to 
maintain  all  the  national  rights, 
but  not  to  be  interfered  with  in 
his  own,  ib. ;  returns  an  evasive 
answer  to  the  petition  of  rights, 
50;  forbids  the  house  of  com- 
mons to  meddle  in  affairs  of  state, 
51  ;  modifies  this  intimation,  52  ; 
sanctions  the  bill  of  rights,  53 ; 
prorogues  parliament,  53  ;  effect 
which  the  murder  of  the  duke  of 
Buckingham  produced  upon  him, 
54 ;     adopts    measures    of    the 
most  despotic  character,  ib.  ;  his 
positioa.at  this  juncture,  ib. ;  his 
attempts  to  obtain  the  concession 
of    the    tonnage    and   poundage 
dues,  55  ;   his  differences  with 
the  commons  in  consequence,  56 ; 
dissolves  his   third   parliament, 
57  ;  his  proclamation  on  the  oc- 
casion, ib. ;  perilous  character  of 
the  career  in  which  he  was  now 
embarked,  58 ;  the  nature  of  his 
views   at  this  time,    ib.  ;    con- 
cludes peace  with  France,  60; 
and  with  Spain,  ib. ;  effect  of  his 
particular    class     of    despotism 
upon  the  nation  at  large,  at  this 
I  eriod,    ib.  ;    his   position   with 
1  eference  to  his  wife's  favorites, 
3l  ;  his  subjection  to  Henrietta 
,  ib. ;  his  domestic  charac- 
). ;  his  councillors  at  this 


I 


f 


period,  62 ;  his  attachment  to 
them,  65  ;  his  exalted  idea  of  the 
rights  of  royalty,  66 ;  his  mode- 
ration towards  the  Roman  cathf)- 
lics,  67 ;  the  inflexibility  of  hi? 
pride,  68;  becomes  involved  in 
pecuniary  difficulties,  ib. ;  for- 
bids Strafford  to  call  the  Irish 
parliament,  64  ;  character  and 
effects  of  his  tyranny,  ib.  ;  re- 
sorts to  all  sorts  of  illegal  and 
oppressive  methods  for  raising 
money,  70 ;  reintroduces  long 
since  abandoned  monopolies,  ib. ; 
extends  the  royal  forests,  ib. ; 
attempts  to  conciliate  the  aristo- 
cracy, 72 ;  imposes  heavy  fines 
for  slights  exhibited  towards  the 
nobility,  and  shares  the  produce 
with  the  offended  party,  ib. ;  re- 
sorts for  support  to  the  Anglican 
clergy,  73  ;  encourages  the  most 
arrogant  pretensions  on  the  part 
of  the  bishops,  78  ;  interposes  to 
prevent  the  emigration  of  secta- 
ries, 84 ;  succeeds  in  defeating 
Hampden  in  the  court  of  law, 
90 ;  nis  endeavors  to  establish 
episcopacy  in  Scotland,  91  ;  or- 
ders the  introduction  there  of  an 
Anglican  liturgy,  93  ;  is  deter- 
minately  resisted  in  the  attempt, 
ib. ;  sends  the  marquis  of  Hamil- 
ton to  Edinburgh  to  carry  out  his 
purposes,  95  ;  prepares  for  war 
with  Scotland,  96 ;  despatches 
an  army  towards  Edinburgh,  97  ; 
proceeds  himself  to  York,  98  ; 
concludes  a  pacification  with  the 
Scots,  99 ;  levies  another  army 
against  Scotland,  ib. ;  sends  for 
Strafford,  ib. ;  summons  a  new 
parliament  in  England,  100 ;  lays 
the  letter  of  the  Scots  to  the  king 
of  France  before  it,  and  an- 
nounces his  determination  of  re- 
newing the  war,  102  ;  demands 
subsidies,  ib. ;  his  warm  disputes 
with  his  new  house  of  commons, 
103;  offers,  on  certain  conditions, 
to  give  up  all  future  demands  for 

42 


ship  money,  ib.  ;  dissolves  the 
parliament,  ib.  ;  after  futile  re- 
grets for  taking  this  step,  returns 
to  despotism,  104 ;  has  resort  to 
oppressive  and  illegal  means  of 
raising  money,  and  renews  his 
persecution  of  popular  members 
of  parliament,  ib.  ;  departs  with 
Strafford  for  the  army  assembled 
on  the  Border,  105  ;  assembles  at 
York,  the  great  council  of  the 
peers  of  the  kingdom,  107 ;  as- 
sembles his  fifth  parliament,109 ; 
nature  of  his  address  to  it,  110 ; 
summons  Strafford  to  attend  him, 
113;  his  address  to  parliament 
on  the  occasion  of  the  proposed 
triennial  bill,  117;  opens  nego- 
tiations with  the  earl  of  Bedford 
and  his  friends,  121  ;  forms  a 
new  privy  council,  ib.  ;  has  in- 
terviews with  some  of  the  mal- 
contents of  the  army,  123  ;  signs 
a  petition  of  a  threatening  nature 
to  parliament  prepared  by  them, 
ib.  ;  his  attempts  to  save  Straf- 
ford, 128 ;  he  announces  that 
he  will  never  consent  to  the 
earl's  death,  129 ;  his  interview 
with  Holies  on  the  subject,  130 ; 
he  consents  to  the  bill  condemn- 
ing Strafford,  131 ;  takes  his  de- 
parture for  Scotland,  136 ;  his 
attempts  to  gain  over  the  army, 
ib.  ;  his  arrival  in  Edinburgh, 
137  ;  his  concessions  to  the  Scot- 
tish parliament  and  church,  ib. ; 
his  affairs  with  Hamilton  and 
Argyle,  ib.  ;  his  real  design  in 
visiting  Scotland,  and  plans  in 
concert  with  Montrose,  137; 
leaves  the  responsibility  of  quel- 
ling the  Irish  rebellion  to  parlia- 
ment, 141 ;  his  expectations  from 
that  rebellion,  ib. ;  returns  to 
London,  145 ;  his  reception  on 
his  way  and  on  his  arrival,  ib. ; 
entertains  the  corporation  of 
London  at  dinner,  ib. ;  with- 
draws from  parliament  the  guard 
assigned  it  by  Essex,  ib. ;   his 


494 


INDEX. 


INDEX. 


495 


!■'  f i. 


efforts  to  rally  a  party  around 
him,  147;  engages  Hyde,  Cole- 
pepper,  and  Lord  Falkland  in  his 
immediate  service,  ib.  ;  his  in- 
dignation and  fear  at  the  popular 
excitement    which    now    arose, 

150  ;  attempts  to  intimidate  par- 
liament, 151 ;  adopts  the  decla- 
ration of  the  twelve  bishops,  nul- 
lifying the  proceedings  in  par- 
liament  during    their    absence, 

151  ;  affects  to  give  way  to  the 
parliament,  153  ;  rejects  the  ap- 
plication of  the  house  of  com- 
mons for  a  guard,  ib. ;  has  Lord 
Kimbolton  and  five  members  of 
the  commons  impeached  for  high 
treason,  ib.  ;  sends  a  serjeant-at- 
arms  to  arrest  the  latter,  154  ; 
proceeds  to  the  house  to  take  the 
accused  into  custody  himself, 
155 ;  his  speech  on  the  occasion, 
156 ;  his  affliction  at  the  failure 
of  this  attempt,  157 ;  demands 
the  accused  at  the  hands  of  the 
city  authorities  without  effect, 
158 ;  his  position  at  this  junc- 
ture, 159;  retires  to  Hampton 
Court,  160;  prepares  for  ^yar, 
162  ;  proceeds  to  Windsor,  ib. ; 
his  negotiations  with  the  parlia- 
ment for  the  purpose  of  gaining 
time,  163 ;  authorizes  the  bill  for 
excluding  the  bishops  from  par- 
liament, 166  ;  proceeds  to  Dover, 
ib. ;  has  several  interviews  there, 
at  Canterbury,  at  Theobalds,  and 
at  Newmarket,  with  commission- 
ers from  the  commons,  166,  16S  ; 
details  of  these  conferences,  ib. ; 
proceeds  to  York,  169;  his  ap- 
peals to  the  people,  173;  their 
effect,  ib. ;  he  gains  ground,  174 ; 
his  attempt  upon  Hull,  ib. ;  or- 
ders, without  effect,  the  West- 
minster assizes  to  be  held  at 
York,  176 ;  his  unsuccessful  at- 
tempt to  dismiss  the  parliamen- 
tary commissioners  deputed  to 
observe  his  proceedings,  177  ; 
proceeds  to  levy  a  guard,  ib. ;  is 


defeated  in  the  attempt,  178  ;  his 
differences  with  the  royalist  refu- 
gees from  parliament,  179;  the 
difficulties  in  which  he  now 
found  himself  involved,  ib  ; 
commissions  the  principal  royal- 
ists to  raise  troops  in  his  name, 
ib. ;  the  indecision  of  his  pro- 
ceedings, ib. ;  essays  to  raise 
money  by  voluntary  contribution, 
but  with  little  effect,  181  ;  breaks 
off  a  commenced  negotiation  with 
the  parliament,  182 ;  takes  active 
measures  for  carrying  on  the  im- 
pending war,  185  ;  makes  a  pro- 
gress through  Yorkshire  and 
other  counties,  ib. ;  erects  the 
royal  standard  at  Nottingham, 
186 ;  establishes  his  head-quarters 
at  Shrewsbury,  1S7 ;  advances 
towards  London,  188 ;  is  defeated 
by  Essex  at  Edgehill,  190 ;  es- 
tablishes his  head-quarters  at 
Oxford,  191 ;  obtains  possession 
of  Banbury  and  other  places,  ib. ; 
receives  commissioners  from  the 
parliament  at  Colnbrook,  192  ; 
defeats  Holies'  regiment,  193 ; 
occupies  Brentford,  ib. ;  retreats 
to  Reading,  and  then  to  Oxford, 
194 ;  receives  a  deputation  from 
the  common  council,  195 ;  re- 
ceives commissioners  from  the 
parliament  at  Oxford,  202;  his 
rejection  of  their  proposals,  203 ; 
sends  a  message  to  Hampden, 
212 ;  is  rejoined  by  Henrietta- 
Maria,  215 ;  declares  the  two 
houses  at  Westminster  not  to  be 
a  true  parliament,  and  forbids  his 
subjects  to  obey  their  orders, 
216  ;  publishes  a  more  modified 
proclamation,  217 ;  the  plan  he 
had  formed  for  marching  upon 
London,  222  ;  sends  to  Lord 
Newcastle  on  the  subject,  223  ; 
relinquishes  the  enterprise,  224 ; 
besieges  Gloucester,  ib. ;  his  in- 
terview with  deputies  from  that 
city,  ib. ;  sends  a  messenger  to 
Essex  with  proposals  of  peace, 


225 ;  raises  the  siege,  226 ;  en- 
gages Essex  at  Newbury,  ib. ; 
retires  to  Oxford,  227 ;  his  recep- 
tion of  the  lords  who  had  with- 
drawn from  parliament,  240 ; 
excites  unpopularity  among  the 
nobility  by  taking  part  against 
their  claims  with  Prince  Rupert, 
241  ;  receives  intelligence  that 
the  Scots  are  preparing  to  make 
war  upon  him,  242  ;  sends  the 
Duke  of  Hamilton  to  Edinburgh 
with  large  offers,  ib.  ;  his  intri 
gues  with  the  Irish  discovered, 
lb.  ;  progress  of  his  affairs  in 
Ireland,  243  ;  signs  a  year's  truce 
with  the  Irish  rebels,  and  recalls 
the  English  troops  sent  to  repress 
them,  245 ;  indignation  of  all 
classes  at  his  conduct  on  this 
occasion,  ib. ;  his  interview  with 
Hyde  respecting  the  parliament 
at  Westminster,  246  ;  desires  a 
proclamation  to  be  drawn  up 
dissolving  it,  ib.  ;  abandons  the 
project,  247  ;  his  objection  to 
calling  a  parliament  at  Oxford, 
ib.  ;  but  assents  to  the  proposi- 
tion, ib.  ;  his  feeling  with  regard 
to  war,  250  ;  is  induced  to  write 
to  the  parliament  at  Westmin- 
ster, to  propose  negotiations,  ib. ; 
adjourns  the  assembly  at  Ox- 
ford, 251  ;  his  feeling  towards  it, 
ib  ;  quits  Oxford  and  makes  his 
way  unperceived  between  the 
two  camps  besieging  the  city, 
255  ;  resumes  the  offensive,  257  ; 
defeats  Waller  at  Cropredy 
Bridge,  ib,  ;  advances  into  the 
west  to  attack  Fairfax,  ib. ;  but 
sends  at  the  same  time  a  letter  to 
parliament,  offering  to  treat,  ib. ; 
writes  to  Essex,  263  ;  sanctions 
a  second  letter  to  Essex  from 
Lord  Wilmot  and  others,  ib. ; 
compels  Essex  to  quit  his  army, 
and  the  army  itself  to  capitulate, 
264;  addresses  another  pacific 
message  to  the  house,  266  ;  re- 
solves to  march   upon  London, 


267  ;  issues  a  proclamation,  call- 
ing upon  his  subjects  to  rise  in 
his  favor,  ib.  ;  is  defeated  by 
Lord  Manchester  at  Newbury, 

268  ;  receives  commissioners  at 
Oxford  from  the  parliament,  273; 
his  first  public  interview  with 
them,  ib. ;  his  private  interview 
with  Holies  and  Whitlocke,  274; 
his  second  public  interview  with 
the  commissioners,  275  ;  sends  a 
message  to  parliament,  276 ; 
agrees  to  a  conference  at  Ux- 
bridge,  277 ;  restores  the  name 
of  parliament  to  the  houses  at 
Westminster,  282  ;  gives  audi- 
ence to  Lord  Southampton  at 
Oxford,  284;  sends  Prince 
Charles  into  the  west  of  England 
with  the  title  of  generalissimo, 
291 ;  his  despondency  at  this  pe- 
riod, ib. ;  quits  Oxford  for  the 
north  of  England,  292 ;  takes 
Leicester,  294 ;  is  defeated  by 
Fairfax  at  Naseby,  295  ;  his  pri- 
vate correspondence  read  to  the 
citizens  of  London  in  Guildhall, 
298  ;  proceeds  to  Ra^land  Castle, 
303  ;  his  letter  to  Prince  Rupert, 
ib. ;  takes  up  his  head-quarters 
at  York,  304  ;  returns  to  Oxford, 

305  ;  marches  against  the  Scots, 
ib. ;  returns  to  Ragland  Castle, 

306  ;  his  letter  to  Prince  Rupert 
respecting  the  surrender  of 
Bristol,  ib. ;  deprives  the  prince 
and  Colonel  Legge  of  their  com- 
missions, 307 ;  IS  defeated  by  the 
parliamentarians  at  Rounton 
Heath,  ib.  ;  proceeds  to  Newark, 
309 ;  his  interview  with  Prince 
Rupert,  310;  dissensions  be- 
tween him  and  Sir  Richard  Wil- 
lis and  other  royalists,  ib. ; 
escapes  to  Oxford,  311 ;  despe- 
ration of  his  affairs,  ib. ;  makes 
overtures  of  peace,  312  ;  renews 
them,  313;  his  secret  negotia- 
tions with  the  Irish  Roman 
catholics  discovered,  315  ;  their 
nature,  316 ;  disavows  his  agents 


/ 


V 


/ 


496 


INDEX. 


;M 


U     i 


in  those  negotiations,  but  with- 
out effect,  317 ;  his  position  at 
this  time,  ib. ;  his  endeavors  to 
sow  dissensions  among  his  oppo- 
nents, 319 ;  his  correspondence 
with  Vane,  ib. ;  proceeds  to  the 
Scottish  camp,  322 ;  his  recep- 
tion, ib. ;  his  secret  plans  with 
Lord  Digby,  326  ;  writes  to  Lord 
Ormond,  327  ;  his  controversy  on 
religion  with  Henderson,  32S  ; 
writes  to  Lord  Glamorgan,  to 
raise  money  for  him  by  pawning 
the  kingdom,  ib. ;  continues  his 


queen  discovered  by  Cromwell, 
ib.  ;    rigorous  measures  adopted 
towards  him  by  the  army,  378  ; 
consults  William  Lilly  as  to  a 
correspondence.]  >  place   of  retreat,   380;   escapes 
4  from  Hampton  Court  to  the  Isle 
of  Wight,  lb. ;  attempts  to  renew 
his  negotiations  with  the  army, 
388  ;  his  secret  hopes,  389  ;   re- 
ceives commissioners   from  the 
parliaments  of  Scotland  and  Eng- 
land, at  Carisbrook,  390 ;  con- 
-  eludes  a  treaty  with  the  former, 
j  ib.  ;  rejects  the  proposition  of  the 


negotiations  with  the  Irish  Ro-xj  latter,  391;  his  interview  with 


man  Catholics,  ib.  ;  receives 
commissioners  from  the  parlia- 
ment, ib. ;  his  interviews  with 
de  Montreuil  and  Davenant,  329; 
declines  the  parliamentary  pro- 
positions, 330 ;  receives  a  depu- 
tation from  Edinburgh,  333;  his 
letter  to  Hamilton  respecting 
his  position,  334  ;  increasing 
sympathy  of  the  people  for  him, 
336 ;  is  given  up  by  the  Scots 
and  conveyed  to  Holmby  Castle, 
337  ;  his  reception  by  the  people 
on  his  way,  and  on  his  arrival, 
ib. ;  his  treatment  by  the  parlia- 
mentary commissioners,  346  ;  is 
removed  by  the  army  to  New- 
market, ib. ;  details  of  the  affair, 
347 ;  receives  Fairfax  and  his 
staff  at  Childersley,  349  ;  his 
treatment  by  the  army,  354  ;  his 
interview  with  his  youngest 
children  at  Maidenhead,  355 ; 
his  friendly  intercourse  with  the 
leaders  of  the  army,  ib. ;  his  first 
interview  with  Sir  John  Berkley, 
358 ;  differences  between  him 
and  the  officers,  362  ;  addresses 
proposals  to  them,  ib.  ;  removes 
to  Hampton  Court,  368  ;  his  re- 
newed intercourse  with  Crom- 
well and  other  leaders  of  the  ar- 
my, 369  ;  rejects  proposals  made 
by  parliament,  372 ;  his  secret 
correspondence  with  the  royal- 
ists, 374;  a  letter  from  him  to  the 


Col.  Hammond  respecting  the 
rigorous  treatment  applied  to 
him,  ib.,;  manifestations  in  his 
favor  throughout  the  country, 
397  et  seq.  ;  receives  commis- 
sioners from  the  parliament  at 
Newport,  415  ;  his  double  deal-* 
ing  on  the  occasion,  417 ;  his 
firmness  with  reference  to  the 
church  of  England,  418  ;  his 
touching  farewell  to  the  parlia- 
mentary commissioners,  422 ;  is 
removed  to  Hurst  Castle,  424  ; 
and  thence  to  Windsor,  432  ;  his 
conversation  on  the  way  with 
Major  Harrison,  434  ;  dines  at 
Lord  Newburgh's,  ib.  ;  arrival 
at  Windsor,  ib. ;  his  treatment 
there,  ib.  ;  is  removed  to  Lon- 
don, 438 ;  appears  before  the 
high  court  of  commission,  439 ; 
particulars  of  the  first  day's  trial, 
lb.  ;  of  the  second,  441  ;  of  the 
third,  442 ;  steps  taken  in  his 
behalf,  ib.  ;  his  fourth  appear- 
ance, before  the  court,  444  ;  is 
condemned  to  death,  446  ;  his  de- 
meanor after  sentence,  447  ;  his 
interview  next  day  with  Juxon, 
448  ;  and  with  his  two  youngest 
children,  449 ;  his  conduct  on 
the  day  of  his  execution,  452; 
his  speech  on  the  scaffold,  454  ; 
his  death  and  funeral,  455. 
Charles,  Prince  of  Wales,  appoint- 
ed by  his  father  generalissimo  of 


INDEX. 


497 


the  west,  291 ;  offers  to  mediate 
between  the  king  and  the  par- 
liament, 313  ;  retires  to  Scilly, 
318  ;  assumes  the  command  of 
the  mutinied  parliamentarv 
navy,  402. 
Chester,   siege   of,   raised   by  the 

king,  293. 
Cholmondeley,  Sir  H.,   negotiates 
with  the  queen,  201. 

Church  of  England,  its  position 
immediately  after  the  Reforma- 
tion, 32 ;  circumstances  connect- 
ing it  with  despotism,  33  ;  its 
position  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
reign  of  Elizabeth,  and  under 
James  and  Charles,  73  ;  its  inde- 
pendence asserted  by  Dr.  Ban- 
croft, ib.  ;  its  support  of  absolu- 
tion, 74  ;  its  assertion  of  divine 
right  for  its  bishops,  78  ;  its  en- 
croachments upon  civil  affairs, 
79  ;  the  feeling  of  the  country 
towards  it,  82 ;  its  clergy  take  an 
oath  against  alterations  in  its 
government,  105 ;  decline  of  its 
influence,  134. 

Church  property,  act  passed  autho- 
rizing the  sale  of,  314. 

Church,  reformation  in,  actively 
set  on  foot  by  the  presbyterians, 
232. 

Clarke,  Mr.  Edward,  his  speech  in 
favor  of  prerogative  censured  by 
the  house  of  commons,  36. 

"  Clubmen,"  origin  of  this  body, 
301 ;  their  views  and  progress, 
ib. ;  treated  with  by  Fairfax, 
302;  broken  up  by  Cromwell, 
312. 

Cobbett,  Col.,  removes  the  king  to 
Hurst  Castle,  433. 

Coke,  Sir  Edward,  prevented  from 
attending  the  king's  second  par- 
liament, 38 ;  characterized,  46. 

Colchester  invested  by  Fairfax, 
405 ;  surrenders,  418. 

Colepepper,  Sir  J.,  named  chan- 
cellor of  the  exchequer,  148 ; 
appointed  to  attend  Prince 
Charles  into  the  west,  291. 

42* 


Commerce,  its  rise  in  England,  30 ; 
impeded  by  France,  44  ;  benefit 
it  derived  from  Laud,  64. 

Commissioners  from  parliament 
wait  on  the  king  at  Dover,  166  ; 
Canterbury,  ib.;  Theobalds,  167 ; 
Newmarket,  168;  York,  176; 
Colnbrook,  192;  Oxford,  202; 
sent  to  Scotland,  218 ;  wait  on 
the  king  at  Oxford,  273;  their 
reception  by  the  people  there, 
ib. ;  proceed  to  Newcastle  to  re- 
ceive the  king  from  the  Scots, 
336 ;  wait  on  the  king  at  New- 
port, 415  ;  particulars  of  the  con- 
ference, ib. 

Commissioners  from  the  king  levy 
oppressive  exactions  over  the 
country,  71. 

Committee  of  grievances  draw  up 
a  report,  142. 

Committee  of  safety  appointed,  183 ; 
of  the  two  kingdoms  appointed. 

Common  council  present  a  petition 
in  favor  of  war,  219 ;  present  a 
petition  for  the  more  vigorous 
prosecution  of  the  war,  294  ;  pre- 
sent a  petition  against  the  army, 
399 ;  refuse  permission  to  Goring 
to  pass  through  the  city  with 
royalist  succors,  404. 

Commons,  house  of,  composition 
of,  in  the  14th  century,  30; 
wealth  of,  in  1628,  31  ;  their 
great  advances  in  freedom  under 
James  I.,  35  ;  their  attitude  in 
the  first  parliament  of  Charles 
I.,  36  ;  vote  the  customs  for  only 
one  year,  37;  their  attitude  on 
being  assembled,  1st  Charles  I., 
39  ;  impeach  the  Duke  of  Buck- 
ingham, ib. ;  vote  public  rumor 
a  sufficient  ground  on  which  to 
proceed,  39 ;  appoint  commis- 
sioners to  conduct  the  impeach- 
ment, 40  ;  two  of  their  members 
sent  to  the  Tower  by  the  king, 
ib. ;  their  projected  remonstrance 
burnt  by  the  hangman,  42 ;  cha- 
racter and  views  of  the  house, 


i 


'..v 


498 


INDEX. 


INDEX. 


499 


I'  '* 


M 


(3d  of  Chas.  I.).  4G  ;  have  a  con- 
ference with  the  lords  as  to  the 
rights  of  the  subject,  48  ;  insist 
upon  a  redress  of  pievances,  49  ; 
draw  up  the  petition  of  rights, 
ib.  ;  their  proceedings  in  the 
matter,  51  ;  are  forbidden  by  the 
king  to  meddle  in  affairs  of  state, 
ib.  ;  present  a  remonstrance 
against  Buckingham  and  against 
illegal  collection  of  tonnage  and 
poundage,  53 ;  are  prorogued,  ib.; 
proceedings  on  being  re-assem- 
bled, 55  ;  their  resistance  to  the 
king's  levying  tonnage  and 
poundage,  ib.  ;  their  position  in 
the  estimation  of  the  public,  81 ; 
their  composition,  4th  parliament 
of  Charles  I.,  102  ;  their  proceed- 
ings, ib. ;  vote  against  the  lords 
interfering  in  money  matters, 
103  ;  refuse  subsidies,  ib.  ;  their 
attitude  on  the  opening  of  the 
king's  5th  parliament,  109 ; 
practically  assume  the  govern- 
ment, 115;  raise  money  in  their 
own  name,  ib. ;  vote  an  indemnity 
to  the  Scots,  116;  negotiate  for 
peace  with  Scotland,  ib. ;  their 
powerful  attitude,  ib.  ;  feeling  of 
the  majority  in  the  5th  parlia- 
ment of  Charles,  118  ;  send  com- 
missioners into  the  provinces  to 
remove  the  crucifixes,  images, 
&c.,  from  the  churches,  120; 
attend  in  a  body  the  trial  of 
Strafford,  124  ;  press  on  the  pro- 
ceedings, 125 ;  their  plan  for 
effecting  the  destruction  of  the 
earl,  126 ;  rumor  of  the  house 
being  about  to  be  blown  up,  129  ; 
their  position  after  Strafford's  ex- 
ecution, 133 ;  prorogue  them- 
selves, 136  ;  send  a  committee  to 
watch  the  king's  movements  in 
Scotland,  ib. ;  alarm  of  the  oppo- 
sition at  the  king's  proceedings 
against  the  covenanters  in  Scot- 
land, 138 ;  authorize  the  servants 
of  members  to  come  armed  to  the 
house  for  their  protection,  150 ; 


apply  to  the  king  for  a  guard,  153; 
their  proceedings  on  the  demand 
being  rejected,  ib. ;  steps  taken 
by  them  on  account  of  the  im- 
peachment of  the  five  members, 

154  ;  conference  with  the  lords, 

155  ;  their  reception  of  the  king 
on  his  coming  to  arrest  the  five 
members,  156  ;  their  subsequent 
proceedings,  159 ;  resolve  that 
the  kingdom  shall  be  put  in  a 
state  of  defence,  162 ;  their  pro- 
ceedings on  the  king's  withdraw- 
ing from  London,  163 ;  send 
commissioners  to  the  king  re- 
specting the  militia  bill,  165 ; 
prohibit  freedom  of  discussion, 
174  ;  reject  a  proposition  for  dis- 
banding the  army,  202 ;  send 
commissioners  to  wait  on  the 
king  at  Oxford,  ib. ;  reject  the 
pacific  measures  proposed  by  the 
lords,  219;  make  a  declaration 
of  their  attachment  to  the  house 
of  lords,  287 ;  propose  to  omit 
from  Fairfax's  commission  the 
instruction  *'  to  watch  over  the 
safety  of  the  king's  person,"  ib.  ; 
their  violent  measures  to  prevent 
the  king  from  coming  to  London, 
320;  vote  £100,000  on  account 
of  the  Scots,  226 ;  vote  that  the 
army  be  disbanded,  337 ;  their 
reception  of  the  delegates  from 
the  army,  341  ;  their  attempts  to 
conciliate  the  army,  343,  353  ; 
pass  a  resolution  against  any 
member  holding  a  place  of  profit, 
353 ;  vote  new  propositions  to 
the  king,  389  ;  pass  a  resolution 
to  set  the  king  by,  394 ;  pass  a 
resolution  in  favor  of  constitu- 
tional monarchy  and  of  peace, 
399  ;  pass  a  resolution  in  favor 
of  fresh  negotiations  with  the 
king,  403  ;  vote  new  propositions 
to  the  king,  406  ;  their  debate 
respecting  the  king's  concessions 
at  Newport,  422 ;  vote  them  to 
be  satisfactory,  428 ;  certain 
members  of,  arrested  by  Colonel 


Pride  by  order  of  the  army,  429  ; 
their  treatment,  430 ;  further 
proceedings  against  presbyterian 
members,  ib.  ;  repeal  all  the  pro- 
ceedings in  favor  of  peace,  431  ; 
resolve  that  the  king  shall  be 
brought  to  trial,  435;  declare 
him  guilty  of  treason,  and  insti- 
tute a  high  court  of  commission 
to  try  him,  ib.  ;  resolve  to  pro- 
ceed with  the  trial  of  the  king, 
notwithstanding  the  refusal  of 
the  lords  to  concur  in  it,  436 ; 
direct  an  inventory  to  be  taken 
of  the  contents  of  all  the  royal 
palaces,  437  ;  abolish  the  office 
of  king  in  England,  456 ;  allow 
500/.  for  the  expenses  of  the 
king's  funeral,  ib. ;  declare  trai- 
tors any  who  declare  a  successor 
to  him,  ib. 

Confederation  of  counties  for  carry- 
ing on  the  war,  197. 

Conyers,  Sir  J.,  appointed  governor 
of  the  Tower,  165. 

Cook,  Colonel  Edw.,  consulted  by 
the  king  at  Newport,  424. 

Cook,  Mr.  John,  appointed  attor- 
ney-general to  conduct  the 
king's  trial,  437. 

Cooke,  Mr.  Secretary,  gives  offence 
to  the  house  of  commons,  48  ;  his 
speech  urging  subsidies,  ib. 

Cornwall,  the  men  of,  their  bravery 
and  loyalty,  213  ;  letter  of  thanks 
to  them  from  the  king,  214  ; 
(note)  ;  peculiarity  in  the  landed 
property  of,  ib. 

Cottington,  Lord,  his  subtlety,  72. 

Cotton,  Sir  Robert,  his  speech  in 
favor  of  a  redress  of  public  griev- 
ances, 36  ;  summoned  to  aid  the 
king  with  his  counsels,  45. 

Council,  great,  of  peers,  called  at 
York,  108. 

Council,  privy,  of  a  popular  cha- 
racter formed,  121. 

Country  gentry  are  ordered  to  keep 
on  their  estates,  72  ;  character- 
ized, 148  ;  their  feelings  towards 
the  presbyterian  party,  ib. ;  resort 


to  London  to  support  the  king, 
ib. 

Court,  the,  its  hatred  of  parliament, 
59 ;  its  intrigues,  61 ;  its  animo- 
sity to  Strafford  and  Laud,  65 ; 
its  alarm  at  the  proceedings  of 
the  commons,  112. 

Court,  Northern,  abolished,  118. 

Covenant,  solemn  league  and, 
drawn  up,  94  ;  its  purport,  ib.  ; 
its  immediate  acceptation,  ib. ; 
agreed  to  by  the  parliament  of 
England,  229  ;  its  reception  in 
London,  ib. 

Credit,  public,  its  origin,  115. 

Cromwell,  Mrs.,  received  with 
great  honors  by  the  king  at 
Hampton  Court,  369. 

Cromwell,  John,  his  efforts  in 
favor  of  the  king,  443. 

Cromwell,  Oliver,  his  first  public 
appearance  in  parliament,  55 ; 
prevented  from  emigrating  by  an 
order  in  council,  84 ;  his  early 
menaces  against  royalty,  118; 
nature  of  his  part  in  the  work  of 
opposition  in  the  earlier  stage  of 
his  political  career,  174 ;  pre- 
vents the  transmission  of  supplies 
to  the  king  from  Cambridge,  181 ; 
rise  of  his  reputation,  205  ;  his 
opinion  of  the  parliamentary  and 
royal  cavalry,  206 ;  raises  troops 
in  the  eastern  counties,  207  ;  his 
address  to  his  recruits,  ib.  :  his 
rigid  discipline,  ib. ;  his  intima- 
tion to  Lord  Falkland  on  occa- 
sion of  the  grievance  remon- 
strance, 143 ;  his  endeavors  to 
gain  over  Lord  Manchester,  261 ; 
his  attack  on  Lord  Manchester 
in  the  house  of  commons,  270  ; 
rising  distrust  of  him  on  the  part 
of  thepresbyterians,  ib. ;  progress 
of  his  influence  with  the  army, 
271 ;  his  contempt  for  the  Scots, 
ib.  ;  his  speech  in  favor  of  pro- 
secuting the  war,  277  ;  his  power 
over  the  troops,  290;  quells  a 
mutiny  in  his  own  regiment, 
291 ;  is  continued  in  command. 


600 


INDEX. 


INDEX. 


501 


-I 
r  ; 


notwithstanding  the  self-denying 
ordinance,  292  ;  defeats  the  roy- 
alists at  Islip  Bridge  and  other 
places,   ib. ;  continued  in   com- 
mand, 293  ;  again  continued  in 
command,    295;     disperses  the 
clubmen,     312;     continued     in 
command  for  four  months,  314  ; 
is  again  continued  in  command, 
317  ;  tampers  with  Ludlow,  338  ; 
his  influence  with  the  army,  ib. ; 
encourages     discontent    in    the 
army,  339  ;  his  tamperings  with 
Ludlow,  342;  meets  the  advances 
of  Whitelocke  and  other  mem- 
bers of  the  commons,  343  ;  soli- 
cited by  the   parliament  to  re- 
establish   harmony   between    it 
and  the  army,  ib.  ;   his  solemn 
denial  of  any  concurrence  in  the 
removal  of  the  king  from  Holm- 
by,  350  ;  allegations  against  him 
on  the  part  of  two  officers,  351 ; 
his  protestations    of  fidelity    to 
the  commons,  ib.  ;  repairs  to  the 
camp  at     Triploe     Heath,    and 
openly  places  himself  at  the  head 
of  the  army  party,  352  ;  his  rea- 
sons for  keeping  fair  at  first  with 
the  king,  356  ;  his  interview  with 
Sir   John   Berkley    at   Reading, 
357  ;  characterized   by   some  of 
the  army  leaders,  35S  ;  his  ma- 
chinations to  create  dissensions 
in  the   parliament,  303  ;  source 
of    his  influence    with   the    re- 
publicans,   307  ;    circumstances 
which   involved  him  in  distrust 
with  the  army  republicans,  308  ; 
his    assiduous  intercourse   with 
the  king  at  Hampton  Court,  369  ; 
seeks     to     conciliate    Lilburne, 
370 ;  nature  of  his  feelings  at  this 
period,  ib.  ;  offers  made  him  by 
the    kin^,   ib. ;    sentiments  to- 
wards  him  on   the  part  of  the 
army,  372  ;  difficulties  of  his  po- 
sition in  Oct.,  1647,  373  ;  disco- 
vers a  letter  from  Charles  to  the 
queen,  explaining  his   real  in- 
tentions,   375 ;    denounced     by 


Lilburne,  373 ;  project  to  assas- 
sinate him,  ib. ;  his  satisfaction 
at  the  king's  escaping  from 
Hampton  Court,  385 ;  his  ener- 
getic proceedings  towards  the  in- 
surrectionary troops  at  Ware, 
386 ;  his  subsequent  reception  in 
the  house  of  commons,  387  ;  his 
speech  against  the  king,  393 ;  en- 
deavors to  reconcile  the  con- 
tending  parties  in    parliament, 

396  ;  is  close  pressed  by  Ludlow, 

397  ;  suppresses  a  royal   insur- 
rection in  London,  398  ;  seeks  to 
conciliate  the  citizens  of  London, 
400;  proceeds  to  head-quarters 
to  take  decisive  measures  against 
parliament,   ib. ;  is   defeated  in 
his  immediate  object  by  Fairfax, 
ib.  ;  his  conversation  with  Lud- 
low, on  his  position,  ib.  ;  has  an 
interview  with  some  presbyteri- 
an  ministers,    481 ;    takes   Pem- 
broke castle,  409  ;  and  marches 
against  the    Scots,    ib.  ;  defeats 
them  at  Wigan  and  Warrington, 
411  ;  is  denounced  in  a  pamph- 
let by  Major  Huntingdon,  412  ; 
enters  Scotland,  419  ;  has  an  in- 
terview with    Argyle,  ib.  ;  con- 
cludes a  treaty  with  the  Scottish 
royalists,  ib.  ;  is  received  at  Ed- 
inburgh in  triumph,  ib.  ;  returns 
to   England,   420 ;    resumes  his 
seat  in  the  house  of  commons, 
431  ;  his  speech  on   the  motion 
for  bringing   the   king  to  trial, 
435 ;     his     excitement    on    the 
king's  approaching   to  take  his 
trial,     439 ;      resists      Colonel 
Downs'  interposition  in  favor  of 
Charles,  446  ;  his  conduct  on  oc- 
casion of  signing  the  king's  sen- 
tence, 450,  and  on  that  of  signing 
the  warrant   for   his  execution, 
452  ;  visits  the  body  of  the  king 
in  his  cofllin,  455. 

Cropredy  Bridge,  battle  of,  257. 
Crown  lands,  sale  of,  by  Elizabeth, 
31. 


Dalbier,  Colonel,  mutiny  of  his 
regiment,  290. 

Darnel,  Sir  John,  his  case,  and 
that  of  his  colleagues,  43 

Davenant,  Sir  William,  his  attempt 
to  induce  the  king  to  accept  the 
offer  of  parliament,  329. 

Delinquents,  public,  denounced  by 
the  commons,  112. 

Denbigh,  Lord,  and  other  commis- 
sioners from  the  parliament  wait 
on  the  king  at  Oxford,  273 ;  re- 
signs  his  commission,  289 ;  waits 
on  the  king,  with  other  parlia 
mentary  commissioners,  at  Ca- 
risbrook,  391. 

Devizes  taken  by  the  parliamenta- 

nans,  312. 
Devon  and    Cornwall,   people    of, 
form  a  treaty  of  mutual  neutral- 
ity, 197. 
Devonshire,  Duke  of,  anecdote  of 
his  daughter,  on  her  conversion 
to  Roman-catholicism,  78. 
D'Ewes,  Sir  Symonds,  supports  a 

motion  for  peace,  407. 
Digby,  his  speech  against  the  bill 
of  attainder  of  Straflfbrd  condemn- 
ed by  the    house   of  commons, 
133;  his  share  in  the  impeach- 
ment of  lord  Kimbolton  and  the 
five  members,  154  ;  his   enmity 
to  Prince  Rupert,  310  ;  defeated 
by  the  parliamentarians  at  Sher- 
borne, 311. 
Digges,  Sir  Dudley,   sent   to   the 
Tower  by  the  king,  41 ;  releas- 
ed, lb. ;  his  speech  on  the  occa- 
sion of  the  king's  forbidding  the 
house  to   meddle  in   affairs   of 
state,  51. 
•«  Directions  for  public  worship," 
substituted  for  the  Anglican  li- 
turgy, 281. 
Dissent,  its  progress,  84,  85,  324. 
Divines,    assembly   of,    convoked, 

Dorchester  surrenders  to  the  roval 

troops,  215. 
Douglas,  marquis  of,  declares  for 

the  king,  305. 


Downs,  Col  ,  his  attempt  in  favor 
of  the  king,  446. 


Ecclesiastics,  bill  introduced  to 
exclude  them  from  civil  func- 
tions, 119;  different  views  re- 
spectmg  the  measure,  120. 

Edgehill,  battle  of,  189. 

EjVwi;  BaaiXixn  published,  443 

ii^lizabeth,  Princess,  her  interview 

7^r    i^^  *"^^^^^  ^t  Maidenhead, 
S5o ;  her  last  interview  with  her 
tather,  449. 
Eliot,  Sir  John,  sent  to  the  Tower 
by  the  king,  41 ;  released,  ib. ; 
his  speech  against  Buckingham, 
48  ;  his  speech  on  the  king's  for- 
bidding the  commons  to  meddle 
in  the  affairs   of  state,  51 ;  pro- 
poses a  new  remonstrance  against 
tonnage  and  poundage,  56;  his 
death,  60, 

Elizabeth,  Queen,  her  policy  with 
reference  to  the  nobility,  27 ;  her 
resistance  to  the  principles  of 
civil  liberty,  35  ;  asserts  her  su- 
premacy over  the  church,  73. 

Elsynge,  Mr.,  resigns  his  office  of 
clerk  to  the  house  of  commons, 
437. 

England,  the  crisis  in  which  she 

was  in  1643,  239. 
Episcopacy,  petition  from  London 

for  the  abolition  of,  119. 
Essex,    inhabitants    of,  present  a 

petition    in   favor  of  the    kinff 

401.  ^' 

Essex,  Earl  of,  sent  with  an  army 
against  the  Scottish  insurgents, 
98  ;  withdrawn  from   the  court 
in  disgust,  99  ;  is  appointed  cap- 
tain-general South  of  Trent,  136; 
grants  the  house  of  commons  a 
guar^^,  139 ;   appointed  general- 
issimo of  the  parliamentary  for- 
ces, 184 ;  marches  out  of  London 
at  the  head  of  the  army,  187  • 
defeats  the  royalist  army  at  Edge- 
hill,  189  ;  besieges  Reading,  204; 
his  innate  antipathy  to  the  war, 
205 ;   decline  of  his  influence. 


'W 


602 


INDEX. 


INDEX. 


503 


M 


'  1 
I  i  1 


ib. ;  circumstances  which  retain- 
ed him  in  command,  ib.  ;  diffi- 
culties of  his  position,  206  ;  re- 
jects proposals  to  open  negotia- 
tions  with  the   king,   219;  re- 
lieves Gloucester,  223  ;  defeats 
the  king  at  Newbury,  227  ;  en- 
ters London  in    triumph,  229; 
tenders    his    resignation,    230; 
withdraws    it,  ib.  ;    receives   a 
message  from  the  parliament  at 
Oxford,  249  ;  returns  it,  ib.  ;  re- 
ceives a  second  letter,  and  replies 
to  it,  250  ;  besieges  Oxford,  254 ; 
refuses  to  obey  the  order  of  par- 
liament to  resign  his  command  in 
the  West  to  Waller,  255 ;  his  suc- 
cesses in  the  west,  261 ;  retreats 
into  Cornwall,  262  ;  difficulties 
of  his  position,  ib. ;  receives  a 
pacific  letter  from  the  king,  ib. ; 
and  a  letter  from  some  of  the 
royalist  lords,  263  ;  rejects  their 
overtures,  ib. ;  sails  from  Fowey 
to  Plymouth,  and  thence  writes 
to  parliament  an  account  of  his 
disasters,  265  ;  the  reply  of  par- 
liament,   ib.  ;    his    resignation, 
2S8  ;  his  death,  345. 
Evelyn,  Sir    John,  proclaimed  a 

traitorby  the  king,  191. 
Everard,     John,     his     deposition 

against  the  army,  399. 
Ewers,  Colonel,  appointed  govern- 
or of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  422. 


Fairfax,  Sir  Thomas,  his  early 
appearance  in  the  cause  of  liber- 
ty, 177  ;    his  spirited  conduct  at 
Heyworth  Moor,  178  ;  his  suc- 
cesses in  the  north,  205  ;  defeat- 
ed at  Atherton  Moor,  213 ;  ap- 
pointed governor  of  Hull,  217; 
defeats  the  royalists  at  Na-twich 
and  Selbv,  251 ;  appointed  gene- 
ralissimo'  of  the  parliamentary 
army,  286 ;  takes  up  his  head- 
quarters at  Windsor,  290  ;  form- 
ation of  his  army,   ib  ;   invests 
Oxford,  293 ;  defeats  the  king  at 
Naseby,   295;    invests    Bristol, 


305;  defeats    Lord  Hopton    at 
Torrington,  318;  blockades  New- 
bury,  321 ;   meets  the   king   at 
Nottingham,  337  ;  decline  of  his 
influence  with  the  army,  344; 
calls  a  general  council  of  offi- 
cers, ib. ;  his  anger  at  the  remo- 
val of  the  king  from  Holmby, 
349  ;  waits  on  the  king  at  Chil- 
dersley,  ib.  ;  addresses  a  threat- 
ening letter  to  the  city  of  Lon- 
don, 353  ;  appoints  commission- 
ers   to    treat  with   parliament, 
354  ;  interposes  to  procure  the 
king  an  interview  with  his  chil- 
dren, 355  ;  his  reception  of  the 
city   authorities,  365  ;  appeases 
the  mutinous    troops   at  Ware, 
385  ;  his  reception   of  Sir  John 
Berklev,  at  Windsor,  388;  re- 
sists    Cromwell's     project    of 
inarching  the  army  on  Lonao^* 
400  ;  beats  the  royalists  at  Maid- 
stone, 404 ;  obtains  possession  of 
Colchester,    418;   reception   of 
members  of  the  commons  on  oc- 
casion of  Col.  Pride's  proceed- 
ings, 430 ;  withdraws  from  the 
high  court  of  commission,  436. 
Fairfax,  Lady,  her  interruption  of 
the  proceedings  on  the    king's 

trial,  444. 
Falkland,  Lord,  his  early  devo- 
tion to  literature,  80  ;  his  inter- 
position on  behalf  of  Strafford, 
113  ;  characterized,  147  ;  ap- 
pointed secretary  of  state,  148  ; 
characterized,  227;    his  death, 

228. 

Feltoii,  John,  assassinated  the  Duke 
of  Buckingham,  53  ;  his  execu- 
tion, 54  ;  copy  of  the  paper  found 
in  his  hat,  Appendix  II. 

Fiennes,  Nathaniel,  his  cowardice 
at  Bristol,  215. 

Finch,  Lord  Keeper,  his  insulting 
treatment  of  Prynne,  87 ;  im- 
peached, 114;  is  permitted  to 
escape,  ib.  . 

Fleet,    parliamentary,     mutinies, 

402. 


Forests,  royal,  unduly  extended, 

70. 
Fortescue,  Sir  Faithful,  goes  over 

to  the  royal   army  at  Edgehill, 

190. 
France,  ambassador  from,  refuses 

to  interfere  in  the  king's  favor, 

451. 
Free  inquiry,  its  progress,  33,  74. 

Games,  popular,  prohibited,  232. 

Gascoigne,  Sir  Bernard,  condemned 
by  Fairfax  to  be  shot,  but  re- 
prieved, 418,419. 

German  troops  levied  by  Bucking- 
ham, 52. 

Giles,  Dr.,  sent  by  the  king  to 
Hampden,  212. 

Glamorgan,  Lord,  characterized, 
316  ;  confidence  reposed  in  him 
by  the  king,  ib. ;  his  negotiations 
with  the  Irish  Roman  Catholics, 
ib.  ;  is  arrested,  317 ;  on  his  re- 
lease, continues  his  negotiations, 
328. 

Gloucester  besieged  by  the  king, 
oo.i 

Goodman,  Rev.  Mr.,  a  Roman 
Catholic  priest,  pardoned  by  the 
house  of  commons,  116. 

Goodwin,  Rev.  Mr.,  offers  his  ser- 
vices to  the  king,  453. 

Goring,  Lord,  discloses  the  plot  of 
the  army  to  Lord  Bedford,  123  ; 
declares  for  the  king,  185 ;  de- 
feated at  Langport,  302  ;  heads  a 
royalist  rising  in  Kent,  401 ;  as- 
sembles a  royalist  army  on  Black- 
heath,  404  ;  retreats  into  Essex, 
405. 

Gourney,  Lord  Mayor,  impeached 
and  dismissed  his  office  by  the 
commons,  180. 

Great  seal,  transmitted  by  the  lord 
chancellor  to  the  king  at  York, 
176 :  replaced  by  the  commons, 
216  ;  a  new  one  made,  456. 

Grenville,  Mr.,  fined  for  speaking 
ill  of  Lord  Suffolk,  72  (note). 

Grey,  of  Wark,  Lord,  refusing  to 
act  as    commissioner  from  the 


parliament  of  Scotland,  is  sent  to 
the  Tower,  218. 

Grievances,  report  on,  presented 
by  the  presbyterians,  142;  de- 
bate on,  143. 

Grimstone,  Mayor,  his  attack  on 
Cromwell  in  the  commons,  351. 

Hacker,  Col.,  signs  the  king's 
death-warrant,  452. 

Hall,  Bishop,  his  treatise  on  the 
divine  right  of  bishops,  78. 

Hamilton,  Marquis  of,  opens  nego- 
tiations with  the  political  lead- 
ers, 121 ;  affair  between  him  and 
the  king  at  Edinburgh,  137  ;  is 
created  duke,  138;  sent  by  the 
king  to  prevent  a  union  between 
the  parliaments  of  Scotland  and 
England,  242  ;  released  from 
prison,  333 ;  regains  the  king's 
favor,  ib. ;  his  exertions  for  the 
king,  ib.  ;  leads  a  royalist  army 
against  the  parliamentary  forces, 
408  ;  is  defeated,  41 1 ;  retreats 
into  Wales,  ib. ;  surrenders  to 
Lambert,  ib. 

Hammond,  Col.,  appointed  govern- 
or of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  379  ;  his 
interview  with  Berkley  and  Ash- 
burnham,  381 ;  waits  on  the  king 
at  Tichfield,  382  ;  escorts  him  to 
Carisbrook  Castle,  ib.  ;   reports 
his  arrival  to  parliament,   385 ; 
his    angry    interview    with  the 
king,  391 ;  deprived  of  his  com- 
mand, 422. 
Hampden,   John,  prevented  from 
emigrating  by  an  order  in  coun- 
cil, 84 ;  characterized,   85 ;  re- 
fuses  to   pay   ship-money,   ib. ; 
brings   the  question  before  the 
judges,  ib.  ;  loses  the  trial,  90; 
his   popularity,   91 ;    his   views 
with   reference    to    episcopacy, 
121 ;    moves    that    the    remon- 
strance on  grievances  be  printed, 
144 ;    impeached  by   the   king, 
153  ;    wounded   in   a  skirmish, 
211;    his  death,  212;   remarks 
upon,  213. 


504 


INDEX. 


INDEX. 


505 


■4 


M 


Harrison,  Major,  escorts  the  king 
to  Windsor,  433 ;  his  conversa- 
tion on  the   way  with  Charles, 

434.  ^   ,  - 

Haslerig,  Sir  A.,  prevented  from 
emigrating  by  an  order  of  coun- 
cil 84  ;  moves  the  bill  of  attain- 
der against  Strafford,  126;  im- 
peached by  the  king,  153. 
Henderson,  Alex.,  draws  up  the 
solemn  league  and  covenant,  94  ; 
his  controversy  with  the   king, 

328. 
Henrietta-Maria,  Queen,  her  mar- 
riage, 2S  ;  her   feelings  towards 
England,    61;    her    ascendency 
over  her  husband,  ib. ;  charac- 
terized, ib. ;  her  favorites,  62; 
her  animosity  to   Strafford   and 
Laud,  65  ;  her  conferences  with 
the   discontented   officers,    122; 
return  from  the  continent  with 
supplies,   199;    her  narrow   es- 
cape at  Burlington,  200 ;  takes 
up  her   residence  at  York,  ib.  ; 
enters    into    negotiations    with 
some  parliamentary  leaders,  201 ; 
impeached    by     the    commons, 
208;  joins  the  king  at  Oxford, 
215  ;  proceeds  to   Exeter,  254 ; 
embarks  at  Falmouth  for  France, 
261 ;  solicits  permission  to  visit 
her  husband,  442. 
Henry  VHI.,  his  policy  with  refer- 
ence to  the  nobility,  27,  31 ;  his 
persecuting  character,  32. 
Hertford,  Marquis  of,  his  disgust 

with  the  court,  214. 
Herbert,    Sir    Edv^rard,     attorney- 
general,   impeaches  Lord   Kim- 
bolton,   Hampden,    and   others, 

Herbert,  Mr. ,  his  conversation  with 
the  king  previous  to  his  removal 
to  Windsor,  432;  instructions 
given  him  by  the  king  after  his 
sentence,  448;  his  last  offices 
for  the  king,  452. 

Heyworth  Moor,  meeting  at,  called 
by  the  king,  177.     _ 

High  court  of  commission,  insti- 


tuted for  the  trial  of  the  king, 
435 ;  its  preliminary  meetings, 
436  ;  opens  its  proceedings,  439 ; 
votes  the  king's  condemnation, 

High     commission,     ecclesiastical 

court  of,  abolished,  118. 
Holborne,  Mr.,  acts  as  counsel  to 
Hampden,   in    the    ship-money 
case,  90;    opposes  the   bill   of 
attainder  against  Strafford,  128. 
Holland,  ambassadors  from,  inter- 
pose in  favor  of  the  king,  430, 
and  Appendix. 
Holland,  Lord,  his  anxiety  respect- 
incr  the  king's  intrigues  with  the 
arniy,  136  ;  deprived  of  his  office 
at  court,    175 ;   his  attempts   to 
regain  the  king's  favor,  240 ;  re- 
turns to  London,  245;  rises  in 
favor  of  the   king,  405;   taken 
prisoner  by  the  parliament,  ib. 
Holies,  Denzil,  characterized,  46  ; 
his  interview  with  the  king  re- 
specting Strafford,  130;  attempts 
to  save  the  earl,  131 ;  impeach- 
ed by  the  king,  153  ;  his  trium- 
phant return  to  the  parliament, 
161 ;  his  interview  with  the  king 
at  Oxford,  274  ;  proposes  strict 
measures  against  the  discontent- 
ed soldiery,  344.  ,   c^ak 
Hopton,  Lord,  characterized,  215  ; 
accepts  the  commission  of  com- 
mander of  the  king's  forces  m  the 
west,  317;  difficulties.of  his  po- 
sition, ib.  ;  defeated  by  Fairfax 
at  Torrington,   318;    retires   to 
the  Land's  End  and   thence  to 
Scilly,  ib. 
Hotham,   Sir  John,    sent    to    the 
Tower  by  the  king,  104 ;  appoint- 
ed governor  of  Hull,   162 ;  re- 
fuses to  deliver  it  up  to  the  king, 
175  ;     arrested    by    parliament, 
217 ;    his   trial   and   execution, 

281 
Hotham,  John,  jun.,  executed,  281. 
Household,    royal,     expenses     ot, 

their   increase   under   James   X. 

and  Charles  L,  67  [note]. 


Howard,  Lord,  arrested  by  Straf- 
ford, 107. 

Hudson,  Dr.,  accompanies  the 
king  in  his  flight  from  Oxford, 
321. 

Hull,  summoned  by  the  king,  186. 

Huncks,  Colonel,  his  refusal  to 
write  the  king's  death-warrant, 
452. 

Huntingdon,  Major,  denounces 
Cromwell,  412. 

Hyde,  Edward,  his  dissatisfaction 
at  the  king's  dissolving  his  4th 
parliament,  104;  characterized, 
147  ;  enters  the  king's  council, 
148 ;  prepares  an  answer  to  the 
general  remonstrance,  l.")!  ; 
draws  up  replies   to  the  parlia- 


mentary publications,  172  ;  joins 


the  king  at  York,  175;  opposes 
the  king's  proposal  to  annul  the 
parliament  at  Westminster,  246  ; 
appointed  to  attend  prince 
Charles  into  the  West,  291 


their  leaders  meet  and  resolve 
upon  strong  measures  against  the 
Presbyterians,  428. 
Industry,  its  progress  under  Chas. 

I.,  107. 
Infanta  of  Spain,  mention  of  her 
projected  marriage  with  Charles 
I.,  28. 
Ingoldsby,     Col.,     compelled     by 
Cromwell  and  others  to  sign  the 
king's  sentence,  450. 
Innovation,  political  and  religious, 
its  marked  advance  towards  the 
end  of  1643,  237. 
Ireland,  its  progress  under  Straf- 
ford, 63;    breaking  out  of  the 
Roman    Catholic    insurrection, 
139  ;  its  progress,  243. 
Ireland,  parliament  of,  votes  subsi- 


Impressment,  house  of  commons 
pass  a  resolution  against,  146. 

Inchiquin,  Lord,  goes  over  to  the 
king,  399. 

Independents,   sect   of,    their  rise 
and  persecution,  83,  , 

Independents,  party  of,  their  rise, 
236  ;  their  principles,  ib. ;  their 
triumphant    position    after    the 
battle   of   Marston   Moor,   260; 
their  progress,   286;    their   ar- 
rangements for  securing  the  ar- 
my, ib.  ;  their  anxiety  to  get  the 
king  from  out  of  the  hands  of 
the   Scots,   324  ;   eminent  men 
enrolled  beneath  their  banners, 
ib.  ;  their  attempts  to  excite  the 
people   against   the  Scots,  325; 


dies  to  the  king,  194. 
Irish  Roman  catholics,  treaty  be- 
tween them  and  the  king  disco- 
vered, 315;  conditions    of   the 
treaty,  ib. 
Irish  Roman  Catholic  insurgents, 
their  negotiations  with  the  king, 
242;  make  a  truce  with  him, 
245  ;  the  hostility  of  the  people 
of  England  towards  them,  ib.  ; 
enlist  in  the  king's  army,  ib. ; 
women  found  among  them,  ib. 
Irish  royalists  in  England,  rigors 
exercised  towards  them  by  the 
parliament,  314. 
Ireton,   H.,     characterized,     338; 
keeps  on  terms  with  the  king, 
358;   his   assiduous  intercourse 
with  the  king  at  Hampton  Court, 
369 ;  is  offered  by  the  king  the 
government  of  Ireland,  370 ;  his 
speech  against  the  king,  393. 
Ireton,  Mrs.,  received  with  great 
honor  by  the  king  at  Hampton 
court,  369. 


their  indignation  at  the  Scottish 

demands,    331;    temporary   de- 1  Islip  BridgeV  battle  of,  292 

cline   of   their  influence,   338 ; 


their  efforts  to  relieve  their  po 
sition,  364 ;  gain  over  some  of 
the  presbyterian  members,  ib. ; 
their  restoration  to  power,  ib.  ; 
difficulties  of  their  position,  376 ; 

43 


James  I.,  his  policy  characterized, 
26,  27 ;  his  resistance  to  civil 
liberty,  34 ;  his  policy  with  re- 
ference to  the  church,  73. 

Jermyn,    Henry,     his     intrigues 


606 


INDEX. 


INDEX. 


507 


I 


with  the  discontented  officers, 

122 
Jenkins,  Mr.  Justice,  his  dealings 
with    Lilburne  in   the  Tower, 

371 
Jewels,  crown,  sold  by  the  queen, 

179 

Joyce,'  cornet,  removes  the  king 
from  Holmby,  346;  vindicates 
himself  to  Fairfax,  350. 

Judges,  their  subserviency  to  the 
court,  41,  43,  71;  declare  Straf- 
ford  guilty  of  high  treason,  130. 

Juries,  their  subserviency  under 
Henry  VIII.  and  his  immediate 
successors,  32.  . 

Juxon,  Bishop  of  London,  appoint- 
ed high  treasurer,  64;  advises 
the  king  to  save  Strafford,  131 ; 
attends  the  king  after  his  sen- 
tence, 448  ;  and  previous  to  his 
execution,  452  et  seq. 
Kent,  petition  from,  in  favor  of 
the  king  and  Church,  173 ;  roy- 
alist movements  in,  401. 
Kilkenny,  insurrectionary  council 

of,  244.  ^      ,. 

Killigrew,  Sir  H.,  his  answer  to 
the  proposal  for  raising  money 
among  the  members  of  parlia- 
ment to  carry  on  the  war,  150. 

Kilsyth,  battle  of,  305. 

Kingston,  attempt  upon,  by  the 
royalists,  162.  ,    j    ,ro 

Kimbolton,  Lord,  impeached,  lod. 

Kirton,  Mr.,  takes  part  in  the  de- 
bate on  the  king's  forbidding  the 
house  to  meddle  in  the  affairs  of 
state,  52. 


Lambert,   John,    characterized, 

Langdale,  M.,  surprises  Berwick, 
402  ;  defeated  by  Cromwell,  410. 

Langhorn,  Major-Gen.,  raises  the 
king's  standard  in  Wales,  398. 

Lansdowne,  battle  of,  213. 

Laud,  appointed  bishop  of  London, 
64;  characterized,  63;  his  ad- 
ministration, 64 ;  his  moderation 
towards  the  catholics,  67  ;  is  of- 1 


fered  a  cardinal's  hat,  ib. ;  his 
efforts  in  favor  of  the  church,  75  ; 
impeached,  114;  his  interview 
with  Strafford  on  the  earl's  way  to 
the  scaffold,  132  ;  executed,  281. 
Lauderdale,  earl  of,  his  offers  to 
the  king  at  Newcastle,  336  ;  pro- 
poses a  mode  of  escape  to  the 
king,  379 ;  enters  into  a  treaty 
with    the   king   in  the  Isle   of 

Wight,  390.  .     ,      ^  ,v. 

Legge,  Col.  W.,    deprived    of  the 
governorship   of  Oxford  by  the 
king,  307  ;  accompanies  the  king 
in     his    flight    from    Hampton 
Court,  380. 
Leicester  taken  by  the  king,  294. 
Leighton,   A.,   his  condemnation 
voted   by  the  commons  illegal, 
116;  his  triumphant  return  to 
London,  117. 
Levellers,  described,  367. 
Leven,  Lesley,  Earl  of,  his  recep- 
tion of  the  king  at  Kelham,  322. 
Liberty,  civil,  its  progress  in  Eng- 
land in  the  centuries  immediate- 
ly preceding  Charles  I.,  29,  31, 
32 ;   circumstances  which    had 
previously  retarded  its  assertion, 
33 ;  its  progress  in  the  first  half 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  84  ; 
circumstances  promoting  its  pro- 
gress, 81,  85. 
Liberty,  religious,  its  connection 

with  civil  liberty,  33^ 
Lilburne,  John,  execution  of  his 
sentence,  88  ;  his  condemnation 
voted  by  the  commons  illegal, 
116;   his  triumphant  return   to 
London,  117;    his   indomitable 
character,  324  ;  his  high  opinion 
of  Cromwell,  368;  his  reproaches 
to  Cromwell  on  distrusting  his 
intentions,   369;   is  visited    by 
Cromwell,  370 ;  encourages  the 
mutinous  troops  at  Ware,  386. 
Lilburne,   Robert,  mutinous  con- 
duct of  his  regiment  at  Ware, 
386.  ,  ^       ^ 

Lilly,  William,  consulted  by  the 
king,  380. 


Lindsey,  Earl  of,  mortally  wound- 

Lindsey,  General,  recalled  to  de- 
fend Scotland  against  the  royal- 
ists,  305.  ^ 

Lisle,  Sir  George,  shot  at  Colches- 
ter, 419. 
Literature,  progress  of  the  taste  for 

in  England,  80. 
Littleton,  Lord-chancellor,  sends 
the  great  seal  to  the  king,  and 
joins  his  majesty  at  York,  176 
Liturgy,  Anglican,  attempt  to  in- 
troduce it  into  Scotland,  95; 
abolished,  281.  ' 

Liyesey,  Sir  M.,  defeats  the  royal- 
ist forces  near  London,  405 
Loan  on  the  king's  own  account 
ordered  to  be  raised,  37  ;  its 
failure,  38 ;  another  ordered,  42  • 
resisted  by  the  people,  43  ' 

Lords,  house  of,  refuse  to  sanction 
a  vote  of  the  commons  respect- 
ing the  customs'  duties,  37  ;  ad- 
mit Lord  Bristol's  claim  to  his 
seat,  40  ;  address  the  king  not  to 
dissolve  parliament,  42  ;  have  a 
conference  with  the  commons  on 
the   rights   of  the  subject,  48; 
urge    the   commons   to    modify 
their  views,  49 ;  their   conduct 
with  reference  to  the  petition  of 
right,  49  ;  advocate  the  views  of 
the  king  on  the  opening  of  the 
fourth   parliament,    102 ;    reject 
the  bill  for  excluding  the  bishops 
from  parliament,  119;   have  the 
independent   sectaries  to    their 
bar     and    reprove    them,    120 ; 
send  commissioners  to  Scotland 
to  watch  the  king's  movements, 
1J6  ;   contention  with  the  com- 
mons   on    the   subject     of    the 
bishops,  150  ;  menaced  in  popu- 
^^^  petitions,  165  ;  impeach  some 
of  their  colleagues  for  absenting 
themselves  from  the  house,  176  ; 
adopt  peaceful  measures,   216' 
•everal  members  of,  join  the  king 
at  Oxford,  221 ;  reject  the  self! 
denying  ordinance,   282  j   com- 


plain to  the  other  house  of  the 
injurious  language  used  towards 
them,  267  ;p^s  a  vote  of  thanks 

vL  fK^""?^'  ^^^  '  ^^^«1^«  to  in- 
vite the  king  to  Oatlands,  346 : 
vote  to  set  the  king  by,  394  • 
vote  a  conference  with  the  kinff 
in  London,  406;  refuse  their 
concurrence  in  the  ordinance  for 
tryung  the  king,  435  ;  abolished, 

London,   citizens  of,  riotous  pro- 
ceedings  of,  on  occasion  of  the 

war  w,th  Scotland,  107;  present  a 
petition  against  episcopacy,  119  • 
manifestations  of,  in  support  of 

?f '/f  T"*'  I'^O  ;  their  reception 
of  the  king  after  the  arrest  of 
the  five  members,  157  ;  present 
a  petition  for  redress  of  ffriev- 

T^':J^?'  P"^^^^  "meeting  of, 
after  the  battle  of  Reading,  192 
their  energy  in  defence  of  par- 
liament, 217 ;  royalist  negotia- 
tions with    248 ;  their  fellings 
towards   the    parliament,   353- 
royalist  movement  of,  358;  roy- 
alist declaration  of,  in  favor  of 
the  king,  363  ;  give  way  to  the 
independents,  363 ;   their  sym- 
pathy with  the  king  on  his  trial, 
441  et  seq. 
London,  common  council  of,  send 
a  deputation  to  the  king  in  favor 
of  peace,  195. 
London,corporation  of,  called  upon 
by  the  king  to  furnish  twenty 
vessels  for  his  service,  43 ;  their 
reply,  lb. ;  present  a  petition  for 
the  calling  of  a  parliament,  108: 
mvite  the   commons  to  a  ban- 
quet, 249. 

London,  women  of,  present  a  peti- 
tion m  favor  of  peace,  which 
gives  rise  to  a  riot,  220 

^o^«' Rev.  Mr.,  his  fanatic  oration 
at  Uxbridge,  284. 

Lovelace,  Earl  of,  opens  a  corre- 
spondence with  the  indepen- 
dents, 240.  ^ 

Lowden,  Earl  of,  his  conference 


508 


INDEX. 


with  Whitelocke  and  Maynard, 
270 ;  his  intimation  to  the  king 
respecting  the  covenant,  330. 

Lucas,  Sir  Charles,  raises  troops 
for  the  king,  402 ;  is  shot  at  Col- 
Chester   419. 

Ludlow,  Edward,  characterized, 
33S ;  tampered  with  by  Crom- 
well, ib. ;  his  conversation  with 
Cromwell,  as  to  the  position  ot 
the  latter,  400  ;  endeavors  to  put 
the  army  in  motion  against  the 
parliament,  413. 

Lunsford,  Sir  T.,  appointed  gov- 
ernor  of  the  Tower,  151;  dis- 
missed the  office,  153  ;  makes  an 
attempt  upon  Kingston,  102. 


Macguire,  Lord,  executed,  2S1. 

Mainwaring,  Dr.,  promoted,  54. 

Manchester,  Earl  of,  rise  of  his  re- 
putation, 205;  appointed  com- 
mander of  the  new  parliamentary 
army,  217  ;  defeats  the  king  at 
Newbury,  268;  is  attacked  by 
Cromwell  in  parliament,  ib. ;  re- 
signs his  command,  2S9 ;  pro- 
tests   against    the    king's   trial, 

436. 

Marston  Moor,  battle  of,  258. 

Martyn,  Henry,  his  cowardice  at 
Reading,  191 ;  is  caned  by  the 
Earl  of  Northumberland,  204; 
his  violent  speech  against  the 
king,  221  ;  expelled  the  house, 

222.  ^.  .        ^ 

Massey,  Major-Gen.,  his  regiment 

disbanded,    326;    appointed    to 

command  the  troops  destined  for 

Ireland,  340. 
Maynard,  Mr.,  his  interview  with 

Lord  Lowden,  270 ;  his  speech 

in  favor  of  the  king's  rights,  393. 
Maypoles  thrown  down  throughout 

the  kingdom,  232. 
Medici,  Mary  de,  ordered  by  the 

commons  to  quit  England,  110. 
Meeting-houses,     their     increase, 

324. 
Militia,  London,  organized  for  the 
service  of  parliament,    174 ;   a 


body  of,  join  the  parliamentary 
army,  193. 

Militia  bill,  passed  by  the  com- 
mons, 104,  by  the  lords,  105. 

Milton,  John,  reference  to,  324. 

Ministers,  two  thousand,  ejected 
from  their  livings  by  the  presby- 
terians,  231. 

Monopolies  enforced,  70  ;  a  list  of 
them,  ib.  (note). 

Monopolists  declared  by  the  com- 
mons incapable  of  holding  a 
seat  in  parliament,  112. 

Montague,  Dr.,  complaints  against, 
bv  the  commons,  54  ;  appointed 
Bishop  of  Chichester,  ib. ;  pro- 
fesses Roman  Catholic  views,  77. 

Montreuil,  M.  de,  his  correspon- 
dence with  the  Scots  in  favor  of 
the  king,  321. 

Montrose,  Marquis  of,  his  intrigues 
with  the  king  against  the  cove- 
nanters, 138  ;  assumes  the  com- 
mand of  the  Irish  royalist  auxili- 
aries in  Scotland,  266  ;  gains  the 
battles  of  Tippermuir  and  Dee 
Bridge,  267  ;  defeats  Argyle  at 
Inverlocky,  285 ;  his  letter  to  the 
king  against  making  peace,  ib.  ; 
defeats  the  covenanters  at  Kil- 
syth, 305;  his  reverses,  308; 
characterized,  ib. 
Mountstuart,  Lord,  condemned  to 
death  by  Strafiord,  71  ;  his  pro- 
perty confiscated  by  the  earl,  72. 


INDEX. 


509 


':f-.l 


Naseby,  battle  of,  295. 

Navy,  state  of  the  English,  under 
Charles  I.,  35. 

JS''ew  agents  appointed  by  the  com- 
mon soldiers,  373. 

Newburgh,  Lord,  his  plan  for  the 
king's  escape,  434. 

Newbury,  battle  of,  226  ;  second 
battle  of,  267  ;  blockaded  by 
Fairfax,  321. 

Newcastle  surrendered  to  the  par- 
liamentary forces,  337. 

Newcastle,  Earl  of,  escorts  the 
queen  to  York,  200;  refuses  to 
march  with  the  king  upon  Lon- 


don, 223 ;  departs  for  the  conti- 
nent, 260. 
Nonconformists,  their  persecution 

by  Laud,  75 ;  their  progress,  84, 

85,  111. 
Northern  court,  put  into  effect,  70 ; 

its  nature  described,  ib.  (note) ; 

abolished,  134. 
Northumberland,  Earl  of,  with  other 

commissioners  from  parliament, 

waits  on  the  king  at  Oxford,  202 ; 

chastises  Henry  Martyn,  204. 
Nye,  Rev.  Mr.,  offers  his  services  to 

the  king,  453. 

Officers,  general  council  of,  their 

proceedings  at  Putney,  377. 
Ormond,    Earl    of,    characterized, 

243  ;  his  efforts  for  the  king,  ib. ; 

arrests    Lord   Glamorgan,   317 ; 

joins  the  king  at  Hampton  Court, 

369. 
O'Neil,   Sir  Phelim,  produces  an 

alleged    commission    from    the 

king,  141. 
Oxford,  blockaded  by  the  parlia- 
mentary  troops,   254;    invested 

by  Fairfax,  293 
Oxford,   university   of,    sends    its 

plate  to  the  king,  181. 


Parliament  at  Westminster,  its 
subserviency  to  power  in  early 
times,  31  ;    1st  Charles  I.,  con- 
voked,  35  ;   dissolved,  37  ;   2d, 
convoked,  33  ;  dissolved,  42  ;  3d, 
convoked,  45 ;   character  of  its 
intercourse  with  the  king,  46  ; 
prorogued,    53  ;     dissolved,   57 ; 
4th,   convoked,    101 ;    dissolved 
103;    5th,    convoked,  107;   cir- 
cumstance  connected  with   the 
day  on  which  it  assembled,  108 ; 
dissension  in,  119;  takes  an  oath 
of  union  in  defence  of  religious 
and  civil  liberty,  130 ;  declares 
itself  a  permanent  body  till  dis- 
solved by  its  own  consent,  ib. ; 
its  false  moral  position   at   the 
commencement  of  the  struggle, 
172  ;  members  of,  declared  trait- 

43* 


ors  by  the  king,  ib. ;  its  declara- 
tion to  the  king,  after  the  affair 
at  Hull,  175  ;    its  position  after 
the  commencement  of  the  strug- 
gle, 179  ;  sends  proposals  to  the 
king,  at  York,  181 ;    dispatches 
Essex  to  attack  the  king,  187  ; 
its  proceedings  on  learning ^the 
king's  approach  to  London,  188 ; 
requests   a  safeguard   from    the 
king  for    six   negotiators,    191  ; 
sends  an  embassy  to  the  States 
of  Holland  to  require  their  neu- 
trality, 199 ;  internal  dissensions, 
208  ;  annulled  by  the  king,  216  ; 
invokes  the  co-operation  of  the 
parliament  of  Scotland  against 
the  king,  ib. ;  its  position  in  Oct., 
1643,  235  ;  progress  of  the  dis- 
sensions in,  237  ;  sends  commis- 
sioners to  Ireland,  who  are  order- 
ed by  Ormond  to  return  home, 
244;    number  of  members  pre- 
sent at,  in  Jan.,  1644,  249;    its 
reply  to  the  king's  message,  250 ; 
its  energetic  proceedings,  252  ; 
its  letter  to  Essex  respecting  the 
king,  254  ;   its  conduct  towards 
Essex,  262  ;  its  letter  to  Essex, 
after  the  Cornwall  disaster,  265  ; 
publishes  the  king's  correspon- 
dence   taken   at  Naseby,   299  ; 
resolves  against  any  further  ne- 
gotiations with   the   king,  313  ; 
passes   an   act  for  the  sale   of 
church    property,    314 ;    orders 
that  no  quarter  be  given  to  the 
Irish  royalists,  ib.  ;  passes  a  reso- 
lution that  it  alone  has  the  right 
to  dispose  of  the  king's  person, 
332  ;  its  reception  of  the  intelli- 
gence  of  the   king's  removal  to 
Holmby,   350  ;   assailed   by  the 
populace  of  London,  360  ;  votes 
return  of  the  king,  361 ;  many  of 
its  members  take  refuge  with  the 
army,  362  ;  its  proceedings  after 
this  secession,  363  :  its  proceed- 
ings after  the  return  of  the  fugi- 
tive members,  366  ;  makes  fresh 
propositions  to  the  king,  371  ; 


III 


510 


INDEX. 


INDEX. 


611 


its    attempts   against   the   army 
agitators,  377  ;  its  consternation 
on  hearing  of  the  king's  escape 
from  Hampton  Court,  3S5 ;  sends 
commissioners  to  treat  with  the 
king,  in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  389. 
Par^ament  at  Oxford,  assembled, 
247  ;  sends  a  pacific  message  to 
Essex,  249  ;  is  adjourned,  251. 
Parties,  state  of,  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  struggle,  143. 
Passive  obedience  preached  up  by 

the  clergy,  43. 
Pembroke   Castle   surrendered    to 

Cromwell,  409. 
Pembroke,  Earl  of,  and  other  com- 
missioners from  parliament,  wait 
on  the  king  at  the  Scottish  head- 
quarters, 328  ;  receive  the  king 
from  the  Scots,  336. 
Pennington,  Alderman,  made  lord- 
mayor  on  the  dismissal  of  Alder- 
man Gourney,  180. 
Pensions,  state,  their  increase  un- 
der   James    I.,   and  Charles  I. 
68  (note). 
People  of  the  continent,  their  posi- 
tion at  the  time  of  Charles  I.'s 
accession,  26. 
People  of  England,  their  rejoicings 
at  the  accession   of  Charles   I., 
25  ;  circumstances  which  placed 
them  in  antagonism  with  Charles 
I.   from    the   outset,   26 ;     their 
position  and  views  in  the  14th, 
16th,   and    17th   centuries,   29, 
30;     their     rapid     progress    in 
liberty,  34 ;  their  feeling  towards 
Charles  I.  after   the  dissolution 
of  his  first  parliament,  37  ;  their 
anger  at  the  failure  of  the  expe- 
dition against  Cadiz,  and  hatred 
of  Buckingham,  38  ;  their  resist- 
ance to  a  forced  loan,  43  ;    pro- 
gress  of  their   discontent,   ib.  ; 
their  anger  at  the  failure  of  the 
expedition  against  Rochelle,  44 
their  feeling  on  the  dissolution 
of  Charles's  third  parliament,  59 
the  part  they  took  with  Eliza 
beth    against    the   church,   74 


their  feeling  towards  the  church 
and  Roman  Catholicism,  82  ; 
their  reception  of  the  result  of 
Hampden's  trial,  91  ;  their  feel- 
ing on  the  assembling  of  a  new 
parliament,  101  ;  their  sympathy 
with  the  Scottish  insurgents, 
106 ;  their  feeling  at  the  death 
of  Strafford,  133  ;  their  fury  at 
the  outbreak  of  the  Irish  insur- 
rection, 141 ;  their  feeling  on  the 
affair  of  the  five  members,  161  ; 
their  various  views  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  struggle,  170; 
a  large  proportion  of,  take  the 
side  of  parliament,  180 ;  open  a 
subscription  in  its  support,  ib. ; 
their  sympathy  with  the  king, 

337. 

Percy,  Lord,  has  an  interview  with 
the  king,  123. 

Peters,  Rev.  Hugh,  his  proceedings 
in  the  interest  of  Cromwell,  387  ; 
his  extraordinary  address  to  Fair- 
fax and  the  officers,  431. 

Philiphauffh,  battle  of,  308. 

Philips,  Sir  R.,  excluded  from  par- 
liament by  the  king,  38. 

Portland,  Earl  of,  protests  against 
war,  183. 

Powell,  Capt.,  raises  royalist  suc- 
cors in  Wales,  398. 

Poyer,  Capt,  raises  royalist  suc- 
cors in  Wales,  398. 

Poyntz,  Major-General,  defeats  the 
royalists  atRounton  Heath,  307  ; 
sent  to  watch  the  movements  of 
the  Scots,  321. 

Petition  of  rights,  drawn  up  by  the 
commons,  49 ;  an  amendment  on 
the,  proposed  by  the  lords,  50; 
rejected  by  the  commons,  ib. ; 
bill  of,  adopted  by  the  lords,  ib. ; 
passed,  53;  ordered  to  be  pub- 
lished, ib. 

Pettiger,  Mr.,  fined  for  speaking  ill 

of  Lord  Kingston,  72  (note). 
Presbyterian  party,  propose  a  bill 
for  the  total  destruction  of  bish- 
oprics and  deaneries,  119 ;  defer- 
ence paid  to  their  party  in  Edin- 


burgh by  the   king,  137;   their 
triumphant  position  in  1643, 231; 
origin  of  their  decline,  232 ;  their 
rising  distrust  of  Cromwell,  269 ; 
consult  Whitelocke  and  Maynard 
on  the  subject,  270 ;  reject  ac- 
commodation    on    other    terms 
than    the    supremacy    of    their 
church,   329;    their   difficulties 
respecting  the   disposal   of   the 
king,  331 ;  their  attempts  to  rally 
against  the   independents,  412 ; 
their  treatment  by  Colonel  Pride, 
429. 
Presbyterian    politics,    character- 
ized, 231. 
Presbyterian  religious  system,  cha- 
racterized, 231. 
Press,  liberty  of  the,  abolished  by 
parliament,  237 ;   futility  of  the 
ordinance,  ib.  ;  violent  proceed- 
ings of  the  republicans  against, 
395. 
Pride,  Colonel,  appears  at  the  bar 
of  the  commons,  respecting  the 
army   petition,   340;   his  treat- 
ment of  the  presbyterian  mem- 
bers, 429. 
Property,   its   subdivision    in   the 
centuries  immediately  preceding 
Charles,  30. 
Protestants  in  Ireland,  their  perse- 
cution by  the  catholics,  139. 
Prynne,   William,    brought  before 
the  Star-chamber,  87 ;  his  trial, 
his  sentence,  and  his  execution, 
87,  88  ;  his  condemnation  voted 
illegal,  116  ;  his  triumphant  re- 
turn to  London,  117  ;  his  speech 
on  occasion  of  the  king  being  re- 
moved to  Hurst  Castle,  427  ;  his 
treatment  at  the  hands  of  (Colo- 
nel Pride,  429. 
Publications,  periodical,  their  great 
circulation    at    the   commence- 
ment of  the  struggle,  171. 
Public  opinion,  its  rising  influence, 

170. 
Pudsey,   Serjeant-Major,  waits  on 
the  king  before  Gloucester,  224. 
Puritans,  their  first  assumption  of 


a  distinctive  garb  and  manner, 

85. 

Pym,  John,  characterized,  46  ;  his 
speech  on  the  amended  bill  of 
rights,  50;  his  intimation  to 
Strafford  on  the  desertion  of  the 
latter,  54  ;  prevented  from  emi- 
grating by  an  order  in  council, 
84;  impeaches  Strafford,  113; 
his  views  with  reference  to  epis- 
copacy, 121 ;  collects  intelligence 
of  the  army  plots,  123 ;  conducts 
the  prosecution  of  Strafford,  124 ; 
his  measures  to  withdraw  the 
king's  support  from  the  earl, 
129  ;  royalist  attacks  upon  him, 
173  ;  his  position  with  the  inde- 
pendents, 234;  his  death  and 
character,  248 ;  honors  paid  to 
his  memory  by  parliament,  249. 


Rainsborough,  Capt,  sent  on  an 
expedition  against  Morocco,  68  ; 
put  in  command  of  the  fleet, 
388  ;  assassinated  at  Doncaster, 
422. 

Rationalists,  described,  367. 

Re,  Isle  of,  failure  of  the  attempt 
upon,  44. 

Reading  surrendered  to  the  king, 
191 ;  to  the  parliament,  204. 

Recreation,  public  days  of,  insti- 
tuted in  lieu  of  Christmas  and 
other  holidays,  352. 

Reformadoes,  characterized,  143. 

Reform,  political,  its  progress,  118 ; 
its  position  in  1643,  234 ;  re- 
ligious, its  position  in  1643,  ib. 

Reformation,  its  early  character, 
32  ;  difference  between  the  re- 
formation intended  by  Henry 
VIII.  and  that  aimed  at  by  the 
people,  ib. ;  antagonism  of  the 
two,  ib.  » 

Remonstrance,  grievance,  present- 
ed to  the  king,  145. 

Republicans,  the  various  classes  of, 
described,  366  ;  their  violent  pro- 
ceedings in  the  commons  against 
the  royalists,  394  ;  against  the 
presbyterians,  413. 


612 


INDEX. 


Revenue,  public,  seized  by  parlia- 
ment for  its  own  use,  1S4. 

Revolution,   tendency  to,  in  Eng- 
land, previous  to  Charles  L,  29  ; ' 
commencement    of    the    actual 
struggle,     169 ;     characterized, 
170  ;  progress  of,  366. 

Rich,  Sir   Nathaniel,  a  speech  of 
his  (quoted,  52. 

Richelieu,   Cardinal,    his    corres- 
pondence with  the  Scots,  101. 

Rinuccini,  the  pope's  nuncio,  ar- 
rives in  Ireland,  316. 

Rochelle,  expedition  to  succor,  42  ; 
its  failure,  44. 

Rockingham,  royal  forest  of,  greatly 
extended  by  Charles  I.,  70. 

Roundway  Down,  battle  of,  215. 

Royal  standard  first  raised  against 
the  parliament  at  Nottingham, 
186. 

Rudyard,  Sir  Benjamin,  his  speech 
on  the   opening  of  Charles  I.'s 
first  parliament,  25  ;  his  speech 
at  the  opening  of   Charles   I.'s 
third  parliament,  47  ;  his  speech 
against  war,  182  ;  speaks  in  favor 
of  peace,  201 ;  withdraws  for  a 
time  from  public  life,  234 ;  his 
speech    in    vindication    of   the 
rights  of  parliament,  413. 
Rupert,  Prince,  arrives  in  England 
and  takes  the  command  of  the 
royal  cavalry,  188  ;  disgusts  the 
public  by  his  severities,  199  ;  his 
impracticable     character,    241  ; 
defeated  by  the    parliamentary 
forces  at  Marston    Moor,   259 ; 
writes  to  the  king,  counselling 
peace,  303  ;  surrenders  Bristol, 
306  ;  letter  to  him  from  the  king 
on  the  occasion,  ib.  ;  is  deprived 
of  his  commission,  307  ;    his  in- 
terview with  the  king  at  New- 
ark, 310. 
Russell,  Col.,  sent  in  search  of  the 
king,  323. 


St.  John,  Mr.  appointed  attorney- 
general,  122  ;  his  position  with 
the  independents  at  their  origin. 


234 ;  protests  against  the  king's 
trial,  435. 
Salt  and  meat,  taxes  on,  abolished, 

352. 
Saltmarsh,  Rev.  J.,  his  pamphlet 
against     negotiating    with    the 
king,  221 ;  vindicates  the  insub- 
ordinate troops,  387. 
Saville,  Lord,  his   intrigues  with 

the  Scots,  105. 
Scobell,  Henry,  appointed  clerk  to 

the  parliament,  437. 
Scotland,  church  of,  attempts  made 
to  overthrow  it,  92 ;   distinctive 
character  of  the  reformation  in, 
ib. ;    independent   spirit   of    its 
clergy,  93  ;  general  assembly  of, 
meets  at  Glasgow,  96  ;  its  remon- 
strance with  the  Scottish  parlia- 
ment for  favoring  the  king,  334. 
Scotland,   parliament  of,  its  mea- 
sures in  behalf  of  the  king,  398. 
Scots  break  out  into  insurrection 
at  Edinburgh,  93;   progress  of 
the  insurrection,  94 ;   the  insur- 
gents  have   all    their   demands 
complied  with,  96  ;   prepare  for 
war,  ib.  ;  address  a  pacific  decla- 
ration to  the  people  of  England, 
98  ;  open  conferences  with  the 
king,  99  ;   are  admitted  to   a  pa- 
cification,  ib. ;   resume   hostili- 
ties, 105 ;  beat  the   English  at 
Newburn,  ib. 
Scott,  Major,  arrested  at  Ware  for 

mutiny,  386. 
Scott,  Mr.  T.,  opposes  further  se- 
verities towards  the  king,  406. 
Scottish  army  contract  alliance 
with  the  English  malcontents, 
103  ;  enter  England,  ib. ;  their 
pacific  conduct  towards  the  po- 
pulation, 107  ;  negotiated  with, 
108  ;  the  favor  shown  them  by 
the  commons  in  1641,  116;  in- 
demnity of  JC300,000  voted  to 
them,  ib.  ;  receive  the  king  at 
Kelham,  322 ;  their  exorbitant 
demands,  332  ;  their  resentment 
of  their  contumelious  treatment 
by  the  English,  ib. ;  their  nego- 


INDEX. 


513 


tiations  with  the  king  at  the  Isle 
of  Wight,  390;  enter  England, 
m  support  of  the  king,  408; 
difficulties  of  their  position, 
ib. ;  their  infantry  capitulates, 
411. 

Scottish  commissioners  wait  on  the 
king  at  Oxford,  203  ;  their  dis- 
sensions with  the  English  par- 
liament, 314  ;  protest  against  the 
trial  of  the  king,  443. 

Scudamore,  Lord,  the  English  am- 
bassador at  Paris,  forbidden  to 
attend  the  reformed  service 
there,  66. 

Sectarianism,  its  rise  and  progress. 
236  r    &       , 

Selden,  John,  characterized,  80. 

Self-denying  ordinance,  proposed 
by  Zouch  Tate,  279;  its  con- 
tents, appendix  No.  xii.  ;  passed 
by  the  commons,  289. 

Seymour,  Mr.,  brings  a  message 
from  the  Hague  to  the  king,  449. 

Sherborne  taken  by  the  parliamentj 
ol«. 

Ship  money,  its  first  imposition, 

Sidney,  Algernon,  refuses  to  take 
part  in  the  trial  of  the  king, 
437.  ^ 

Skippon,  Major,  characterized, 
161 ;  appointed  to  the  command 
of  the  city  militia,  ib. ;  his 
speech  to  the  London  mili- 
tia, 193 ;  his  address  to  the 
troops  after  the  departure  of 
Essex,  264 ;  appointed  major- 
general  in  Fairfax's  army, 
290  ;  directed  to  convey  the 
money  destined  for  the  Scots 
to  York,  335  ;  appointed  to  com- 
mand the  succors  raised  for  Ire- 
land, 340;  presents  a  petition 
from  some  cavalry  regiments, 
341  ;  restored  to  the  command 
of  the  militia,  403. 

Southwark,  inhabitants  of,  bring  a 
petition  to  the  house  in  favor  of 
the  army,  but  are  not  allowed  to 
present  it,  263 


Stagg,  Ann,  heads  a  deputation  of 
women  with  a  petition  to  the 
house,  164. 
Star-chamber  abolished,  134. 
Straflford,     Went  worth.    Earl    of, 
characterized,  26 ;  his  speech  on 
the    lords'  amendment  on    the 
bill  of  right,  50 ;  made  a  privy 
councillor,    54;    his    character, 
62  ;  and  the  character  of  his  ad- 
ministration, 63 ;  appointed  vice- 
roy of  Ireland,  ib.  ;  difficulties 
of  his  position  with  the  king,  66 ; 
his  efforts  to  counteract  the  ef- 
fects  of  the  king's  vacillation, 
69  ;  assembles  the  Irish  parlia- 
ment, ib. ;  is  forbidden  to  con- 
voke  it  again,    ib.  ;    condemns 
Lord  Mountstuart  to  death,  71  ; 
gives  6000/.  to  buy  oflTthe  king's 
displeasure,  ib.  ;  sent  for  by  the 
king  to  act  against  the  Scots,  99  ; 
his  difficulties,  100;  returns  to 
Ireland  to  levy  troops,  &c.,  101 ; 
returns  from  Ireland,  104  ;  raises 
funds,  ib. ;   his  arrogance,  105 ; 
departs    with    the  king   to   the 
army,  ib ;    returns  to  York,  on 
the  dispersion  of  the  army,  106 ; 
his  subsequent  proceedings,  107  ; 
has  Lords  Wharton  and  Howard 
arrested,  ib. ;  his  message  to  the 
king,  ib. ;  attacks  the  Scots,  108  ; 
is  censured  for  this  proceeding, 
ib.  ;  comes  to  London  to  attend 
parliament,  113;    is  impeached 
by  the  house  of  commons,  ib. ; 
is  committed  to  the  Tower,  114 ; 
his  trial  begins,  124 ;  his  deport- 
ment, ib.  ;  progress  of  the  trial ; 
125  ;  is  attainted  of  high  treason 
by  a  bill  introduced  in  the  lower 
house,   126 ;   his  speech   in  his 
defence,  ib.  ;  the  bill  of  his  at- 
tainder passes  the  house  of  com- 
mons, 128  ;  efforts  made  by  the 
king  to  save  his  life,  ib.  ;    the 
bill  of  his  attainder  passes  the 
house  of  lords,   130 ;  his  letter 
to  the  king,  131 ;  the  king  con- 
sents to  his  death,  ib  ;  his  de- 


514 


INDEX. 


meaner  previous  to  his  execu- 
tion, 132  ;  his  death,  133. 

Strickland,  Mr.,  sent  as  envoy  ex- 
traordinary to  the  states  of  Hol- 
land, 199. 

Strode,  Mr.,  his  opinion  of  the  roy- 
alist troops,  215. 

Stuarts,  family  of,  its  absolute  ten- 
dencies, 27. 

Sunderland,  Lord,  death  and  cha- 
racter of,  227. 

Surrey,  petitioners  from,  have  a 
conflict  with  the  parliamentary 
troops,  401. 

Tate,  Zouch,  proposes   the  self- 
denying  ordinance,  279. 
Taunton   surrenders   to  the   royal 

troops,  215. 
Taxes,   new,    imposed  by  parlia- 
ment, 253. 
Taylor,  Mr.,  sent  to  the  Tower,  by 

the  commons,  133. 
Theatres  ordered  to  be  closed,  232. 
Tippermuir,  battle  of,  267. 
Tomlinson,-  Col.,    his    respectful 

treatment  of  the  king,  453. 
Tompkins,    Mr.,    executed    for  a 

plot  against  parliament,  210. 
Tonnage  and  poundage   duties,  a 
remonstrance   of  the    commons 
against   their    irregular   collec- 
tion, 53 ;  debate  on  the  subject, 
SG ;    the  levying  of  the   duties 
declared  by  the  house  of  com- 
mons illegal,  ib. 
Torrington,  battle  of,  31*=^. 
Tribunals  arbitrary,  abolished,  118. 
Triennial  bill  proposed,  117. 
Tuam,  Archbishop  of,  killed,  315. 
Tyrone,  Earl  of,  anecdote  of,  223. 

UxBRiDGE,  negotiations  at,  284. 

Vane,  Sir  Harry,  made  secretary 
of  state,  100 ;  negotiates  a  treaty 
of  alliance  with  the  Scots,  229  ; 
his  secret  correspondence  with 
the  king,  319 ;  protests  against 
the  king's  trial,  435. 

Villiers,  Sir  F.,  killed  by  the  par- 
liamentarian forces,  405. 


Waller,  Edmund,  his  plot  against 
the  parliament,  209 ;  gives  evi- 
dence against  his  accomplices, 
210  ;  is  condemned,  but  pardon- 
ed, 211. 

Waller,  Sir  William,  obtains  the 
appellation  of  William  the  Con- 
queror, 205  ;  defeated  at  Lans- 
down  and  Round  way  Down,  213  ; 
returns  to  London,  215 ;  receives 
the  thanks  of  parliament,  217  ; 
resigns  his  commission,  230; 
dispute  between  him  and  Essex, 
256 ;  defeated  by  the  king  at 
Cropredy  Bridge,  257. 

War  breaking  out  of  the,  1S5 ;  pro- 
gress of,  in  the  provinces,  190; 
character  of  the,  in  1642,  198. 

Ware,  rendezvous  of  the  army  at. 

385. 
Warwick,  Earl  of,  royalist  attacks 
upon     him,   173 ;    assumes    thfc 
command  of  the  fleet,  180. 
Warwick,  Sir   Philip,  sent  by  th« 

king  to  Lord  Newcastle,  223. 
West,  Col.,  appointed  to  the  com 

mand  of  the  Tower,  406. 
Wevmouth  surrenders  to  the  royal 

troops,  215. 
Whallev,  Col.,  acts  as  a  spy  upoc. 

the  king,  371. 
Whalley,  Mrs.,  received  with  great 

honor  by  the  king,  369. 
Wharton,  Lord,  arrested  by  ordef 

of  Straflbrd,  107. 
Whitelocke,  Mr.,  is  consulted  by 
the  presbyterian  leaders,  270, 
his  interview  with  the  king  al 
Oxford,  274;  his  speech  on  the 
self-denying  ordinance,  279 ; 
seeks  the  favor  of  Cromwell,  343. 
Whorewood,  Mrs.,  consults  Lilly 

on  the  peril  of  the  king,  380. 
Williams,   Abp.,   assailed  by   the 

mob,  149. 
Willis,  Sir  R.,  his  dispute  with  the 

king,  310.  ,  . 

Wilson,  Roland,  equips  a  regiment 

in  support  of  parliament,  232. 
Wincjiester  taken  by  the   parlia- 
ment, 312. 


INDEX. 


515 


Wmdebank,  Mr.,   Secretary,   im 
peached,  114;  absconds,  ib. 

Worcester,  Marquis  of,  his  devo- 
ted loyalty,  303;  receives  the 
king  at  Ragland  Castle,  ib. 

Workman,  Rev.  Mr.,  his  persecu- 
tion  and  death,  76,  77 

Wr°^^,vSirT.,his  speech  against 
the  king,  392. 

Whychcott,  Governor,  refuses  per-  I 


mission  to  have  the  Anglican 
service  performed  over  the  body 
of  the  king,  456. 

York,  the  king  assembles  a  court 
at,  98  ;  great  council  called  at, 
107  ;  meeting  at,  in  favor  of  par- 
liament, 176. 

Yorkshire  and  Cheshire,  treaty  of 
mutual  neutrality  between,  197, 


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kad  separately  bound. 

The  Ahciiitt  Histokt  division  comprises  Eighteen  Chapters,  which  include  the  general  out- 
lines of  the  History  of  Egypt — the  Ethiopians — Babylonia  and  Assyria — Western  Asia — Palestine 
—the  Empire  of  the  Medes  and  Persians — Phenician  Colonies  in  Northem  Africa — Foundation 
and  History  of  the  Grecian  States — Greece — the  Macedonian  Kingdom  and  Empire — the  States 
that  arose  from  the  Dismemberment  of  the  Macedonian  Empire — Ancient  Italy — Sicily — the  Ro* 
■Mm  Republic — Geographical  and  Political  Condition  of  the  Roman  Empire — History  of  the  Ro* 
man  fSmpire — and  India — with  an  Appendix  of  important  illustrative  articles. 

This  portion  is  one  of  the  best  Compends  of  Ancient  Bistory  that  ever  yet  has  appeared  It 
eoBtaini  a  complete  text  for  the  collegiate  lecturer  ;  and  is  an  essential  hand-book  for  the  student 
who  is  deairotts  to  become  acquainted  with  all  that  is  memorable  in  general  secular  archsology. 

The  MoDXKir  Histokt  portion  is  divided  into  Fourteen  Chapters,  on  the  following  general 
•vbjecta : — Consequences  of  the  Fall  of  the  Westem  Empire— Rise  and  Establishment  of  tba 
Saracenic  Power — Restoration  of  the  Western  Empire— Growth  of  the  Papal  Power— Revival  oi 
Literature— Progress  of  Civilization  and  Invention — Reformation,  and  Commencement  of  the 
Btatos  System  in  Europe— Augnstan  Ages  of  England  and  France — Mercantile  and  Colonial  Sys- 
tem— Age  of  Revolutions — French  Empire — History  of  the  Peace — Colonization — China— tha 
Jews— with  Chronological  and  Historical  Tables  and  other  Indexes.  Dr.  Henry  has  appended  a 
■ew  chapter  on  the  History  of  the  United  States. 

This  Manual  of  Modem  History,  by  Mr.  Taylor,  is  the  most  valuable  and  instructive  work 
toaeaminf  the  general  subjeata  wkiah  it  coosprehends,  that  can  be  found  ia  the  waoie  departaiatti 
af  Uatoriaal  litaratwa. 


D.  Appleton  ^  Co,  have  recently  published 

HISTORY   OF   GERMANY, 

FROM  THE  EARLIEST  PERIOD  TO  THE  PRESENT  TIME. 

FREDERICK  KOHLRAUSCH, 

Chief  of  the  Board  of  Education  for  the  Kingdom  of  Hanover^  ani 
late  Professor  of  History  in  the  Polytechnic  School. 

Translated  from  the  last  German  edition. 

By  JAMES   D.    HAAS. 

One  elegant  8vo.  volume,  of  500  pages,  with  complete  Index,  SI  50. 

translator's    PREFACE. 

The  high  merits  and  distinguished  character  of  the  original  German  Work,  by  Pro- 
fessor Kohlrausch,  of  which  this  is  a  translation,  have  long  been  acknowledged.  A 
work  which,  during  a  period  of  thirty  years,  has  enjoyed  so  much  popularity  as  to  have 
gone  through  several  editions,  embracing  a  circulation  of  many  thousand  copies  ;  a 
production  which  has  extended  and  established  its  good  repute,  even  in  its  original  form 
far  beyond  its  native  clime,  to  England,  France,  Belgium,  Italy,  America,  Sue.  (in  some 
of  which  countries  it  has  been  reprinted  in  German,)  and  has  thus  become  a  standard 
bonk  of  reference  in  almost  all  thi  Universities  and  principal  public  as  well  as  private 
educatitmal  Institutions.  Such  a  p  iblioation  possesses  ample  testimony  proving  it  able  to 
create  a  lasting  interest,  and  confirm  ng  its  claims  to  consideration  and  esteem. 

The  aim  of  the  distinguished  author,  in  this  valuable  history,  is  thus  simply  but  dis- 
tinctly  expressed  by  himself:  "  My  sole  object,"  he  says,  "  has  been  to  produce  a  suc- 
cinct and  connected  development  of  the  vivid  and  eventful  course  of  our  country's  his- 
tory, written  in  a  style  calculated  to  excite  the  interest  and  sympathy  of  my  readers, 
and  of  such  especially  who,  not  seeking  to  enter  up<m  a  very  profound  study  of  the  source* 
and  more  elaborate  works  connected  with  the  annals  of  our  empire,  are  nevertheless 
anxious  to  have  presented  to  them  the  means  of  acquiring  an  accurate  knowledge  of 
the  records  of  our  Fatherland,  in  such  a  form  as  to  leave  upon  the  mind  and  heart  an 
enduring,  indelible  impression.'' 

That  our  industrious  historian  has  attained  his  object,  the  intelligent  reader  will  find 
in  the  interest  excited,  the  clear  views  ia.:^arted,  and  the  deep  impression  effected  by 
hia  animated  portrayals  of  both  events  and  individuals.  This  has  been  the  original  and 
acknowledged  characteristic  of  Ilerr  Kohlrausch's  work  throughout  its  entire  existence 
but  iu  the  new  edition,  from  which  this  translation  has  been  rendered,  he  has  endeavour- 
ed to  niuke  it  as  perfect  as  possible,  b<ith  in  matter  and  style,  and  besides  this  has  en 
riched  it  with  many  valuable  notes  not  contained  in  the  former  editions  :  thus  making  it 
iu  reality  a  concise,  yet,  in  every  respect,  a  complete  history  of  Germany. 

It  is  important  to  remark,  that  Professor  Kohlrausch  is  a  Protestant,  and  one  distin 
guished  not  less  for  his  freedom  from  prejudice  and  impartiality,  than  for  the  comprehen- 
•iveiiessuf  his  views  and  the  high  tone  of  his  philosophy.  The  general  adoption  of  the  wcrk 
— aUke  by  Protestant  and  R<miani8t — is  proof  sufficiently  convincing  of  the  impartiality  of 
his  statements,  and  of  the  justice  of  his  reflections  and  sentiments. 


"  Aftei  England,  no  country  has  stronger  claims  upon  the  attention  of  Americans  than 
German}  Its  institutions,  language,  literature  and  national  character  combine  to  ren- 
der Its  history  highly  intereating.  The  place  it  has  occupied  among  nations  for  1000 
years— that  is,  ever  since  the  era  of  Cliariemagne— has  been,  on  the  whole,  second  to 
none- in  inipoitance  Some  of  the  greatest  inventions— amon:?  them  gunpowder  and  the 
art  of  printing — owe  their  origin  to  the  Germans.  The  literature  of  Germany  is  now 
exciting  a  marked  induence  over  our  own,  and  we  can  never  forget  that  Germany  is  the 
cradle  of  the  Reformation. 

"  Notwithstanding  all  these  claims  upon  our  attention,  it  is  not  to  be  denied  that  the 
history  of  Germany  has  been  very  little  known  among  us.  Few  persons  except  the  highly 
elurated  have  more  than  a  very  meagre  knowledge  of  the  outlines  of  German  history. 

"  Tlie  publicjition  of  Kohlrausch's  History,  which  is  a  standard  work  at  home,  comes  in 
rery  opportunely  to  supply  the  dearth  of  information  on  this  interesting  topic.     It  far 
nishes  a  most  valuable  compend  ;  and  will  tend  to  spread  in  our  countnr  a  knowle<^« 
«r  one  of  the  most  refined  as  well  as  most  learned  of  modem  nations.     Few  of  the  J*"*" 
lorcal  works  of  out  day  are  more  worthy  of  the  public  patronage. — Evening  ■*■■■■"" 


A  NEW  SCHOOL  AND  REFERENCE  DJCTIONART, 

Published  by  D.  Appleton  4-  Company. 
A  DICTIONARY  OF  THE   ENGLISH   LANGUAGtf 

CONTAimNO  THE 

PRONUNCIATION,  ETYMOLOGY,  AND  EXPLANATION 

Of  all  words  authorized  by  eminent  writers ; 

TO   WHICH   ARE   ADDED, 

A    VOCABULARY    OF    THE    ROOTS    OF    ENGLISH    WORDS, 
AMD   AN    ACCENTED    LIST    OF  GREEK,  LATIN,  AND  SCRIPTURE    PROPER   NAMES 

BY   ALEXANDER  REID,   A.  M., 

Rector  of  the  Circus  School,  Edinburgh. 
WITH    A    CRITICAL    P  RE  FACE, 
BY  HENRY  REED, 
Professor  of  English  Literature  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 

One  Volume  I2mo.  of  near  600  pages,  neatly  bound  in  leather.    Price  $1 

Among  the  wants  of  our  time  was  a  good  Dictionary  of  our  own  language,  espe 
cially  adapted  for  academies  and  sch<.ols.    The  books  which  have  long  been  in  u^e 
were  of  little  value  to  the  junior  sf  idents,  being  too  concise  in  the  definitions,  and 
Immethodical  in  the  arrangement.    Reid's  English  Dictionary  was  compiled  expressly 
to  develop  the  precise  analogies  and  various  properties  of  the  authorized  words  in 
general  use,  by  the  standard  authors  and  orators  who  use  our  vernacular  tongue. 

Exclusive  of  the  large  numbers  of  proper  names  which  are  appended,  this  Diction- 
ary includes  four  especial  impnTveinenls— and  when  their  essential  value  to  the 
student  Is  considered,  the  sterling  character  of  the  work  as  a  hand-book  of  our  lan- 
guage instantly  will  be  perceived. 

The  primitive  word  Is  distinguished  by  a  larger  type  ;  and  where  there  are  any  de- 
rivatives from  it,  they  follow  in  alphabetical  order,  and  the  part  of  speech  is  append 
ed,  thus  furnishing  a  complete  classification  of  all  the  connected  analogous  words  ol 

the  same  species.  r  u    ^     i-  u 

With  this  facility  to  comprehend  accurately  the  determinate  meaning  of  the  English 
word,  is  conjoined  a  rich  illustration  for  the  linguist.  The  derivation  of  all  the  prim 
Itlve  words  is  distinctly  given,  and  the  phrases  of  the  languages  whence  they  are  de 
duced,  whether  composite  or  simple ;  so  that  the  student  of  foreign  languages,  both 
ancient  and  modern,  by  a  reference  to  any  word,  can  ascertain  the  source  whence  it 
has  been  adopted  into  our  own  form  of  sj)ecch.  This  is  a  great  acquisition  to  the 
person  who  Is  anxious  to  use  words  in  their  utmost  clearness  of  meaning. 

To  these  advantages  is  subjoined  a  Vocabulary-  of  the  Roots  of  English  Words, 
which  is  of  peculiar  value  to  the  collegian.  The  fifty  pages  which  it  includes,  fur- 
nish the  linguist  with  a  wide-spread  field  of  research,  equally  amusing  and  instruct- 
iTe.  There  Is  also  added  an  Accented  List,  to  the  number  of  fifteen  thousand  of 
Greek,  Latin,  and  Scripture  Proper  Names. 

With  suclyiovel  attractions,  and  with  such  decisive  merits,  the  recommendations 
which  are  prefixed  to  the  work  by  Professors  Frost,  Henry.  Parks,  and  Reed,  Messrs. 
Baker  and  Greene,  princip;«ls  of  the  tw(»  chief  praiimiar  schools,  at  Boston,  and  by  Dr. 
Eeese,  Superintendent  of  Common  Scho«.ls  for  the  city  and  county  of  New  York,  are 
justly  due  to  the  labors  of  the  Muthor.  They  fully  r«.rrolK)rute  the  opinion  expressed 
by  several  other  competent  auth.)r!ties,  thnt  "  Reid's  English  Dictirnary  is  peculiarly 
adapted  for  the  use  of  schools  and  families,  and  Is  far  superior  'o  any  other  existaig 
alnllax  compilation." 


%      A      -r    I    /^     iki      A      I 


\A/  ^    O    I/*   Q 


D.  Appleton  fy   Co.  have  just  published 
THE  STANDARD 

PRONOUNCING  DICTIONARY 

OF    THE 

FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  LANGUAGES, 

IN  TWO  PARTS. 

PABT  I.  PBENCH  AND  ENGLISH.— PART  II.  ENGLISH  AND  FBENCH. 

THE  FIRST  PART  COMPREHENDING 

WORDS    IN   COMMOir   USE.      TEBMA   COIV.XECTED    "WITH    SCIENCE.        TERMS    BELORQIira 
TO  THE  FIIf«  ARTS.      4000  HISTORICAL  NAMES.      4000  GEOGRAPHICAL   HAMSf. 
11,000  TEBMS  LATELY  PUBLISHED.      WITH  THE 

PRONUNCIATION  OP  EVERY  WORD 

ACCORDIIfO   TO    THE    FRENCH  ACADEMT    AND    THE    MOST  EMINENT   LKXICOORAPHKRi 

AND  GRAMMARIANS.      TOGETHER  WITH 

750  CRITICAL  REMARKS, 

IN  WHICH  THE    VARIOUS  METHODS  OF    PRONOUNCING   EMPLOYED    BY   DIFFERENT    AU- 
THORS ARE  INVESTIGATED  AND  COMPARED  WITH  EACH  OTHER. 

THE  SECOND  PART  CONTAINING 

A  COPIOUS  VOCABULARY    OF    ENGLISH    WORDS  AND    EXPREHIONS,  WITH  THE    PRONUN> 

CIATION  ACCORDING  TO  WALKER.      THE  WHOLE  PRRCEDED  BY 

A  PRACTICAL  AND   COMPREHENSIVE  SYSTEM  OF  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION. 

BY  GABRIEL  SURENNE,  F.  A.  S.  E., 

French  Teacher  in  Edinburgh ;  Corresponding  Member  of  the  French  Grammatical  Society 

of  Paris ;  Lecturer  on  Military  History  in  the  Scottish  Naval  and  Military 

Academy ;  and  author  of  several  Works  on  Education. 

One  volume  12mo.  of  900  pages. 

Extract  from  the  AuUior^s  Preface. 

The  Phraseology,  forming  the  second  essential  part  of  this  Dictionary,  is  based  on 
that  of  the  Academy,  the  sole  and  legitimate  authority  in  France ;  and  every  effort  of 
the  Author  has  been  so  directed,  as  to  render  it  both  copious  and  practical.  With 
this  view,  an  improved  method  of  elucidating  new  meanings,  by  employing  paren- 
theses, has  been  introduced,  and  it  is  hoped  that  the  utility  and  benefits  resulting 
from  this  improvement,  will  not  fail  to  be  duly  appreciated. 

Another  novelty  to  which  the  Author  may  lay  claim,  is  the  placing  of  Historical 
and  Geographical  names  below  each  page  ;  and  by  this  arrangement,  the  facility  of 
being  acquainted  with  their  definition  and  pronunciation  at  a  single  glance,  will 
be  found  of  no  small  advantage. 

As  to  the  English  or  second  part  of  this  Dictionary,  the  reader  will  find  it  to 
couiist  of  a  copious  vocabulary  of  terms,  with  their  pronunciation  according  to  the 
system  of  Walker.  The  various  meanings  of  the  words  are  translated  into  French  ; 
and  when  the  expressions  bnppen  to  be  substantives,  the  French  gender  is  pointed  ont 
by  means  ol  proper  signs. 

Lastly,  that  competent  Judges  may  be  aware  of  the  authorities  on  which  the  pro* 
nunciation  and  critical  remarks  peivading  this  Dictionary  are  founded,  the  titles  and 
dates  of  the  works  which^  have  been  consulted,  with  brief  reflectionson  their  pro- 
fessed object,  will  be  found  in  the  Introduction  following  this  Preface. 


\ 


Jj^ ^rynlfif /ifi  Rp   />«  '•   V^m,j»^4:^^^, 


JATIO  N  AL    WO  RKS. 

Published  by  D.  Appleton  ^  Company. 

THE  STANDARD  PRONOUNCING  DICTIONARY  OF  THE  FRENCH 
AND  ENGLISH  LANGUAGES.  Part  I.  French  and  English  ;  Part  11. 
English  and  French.     By  Gabriel  Surenne,F.  A.  S.  E.     One  volume  l2mo. 

Thi«  new  and  complete  Dictionary  embraces  many  valuable  improvernentn.  Its  ?'«"'»"""'« 
principle  of  Reid's  new  Dictionary  of  the  English  Language,  which  hai  been  so  favorably  receiv- 
ed by  American  Scholara.  ^„  .  ,^    ,,rr.*rni-< 

OLLENDORFF'S  NEW  METHOD  OF  LEARNING  TO  READ,  WRITE 
AND  SPEAK  THE  ITALIAN  LANGUAGE.  With  additions  and  cor- 
rections,  by  Felix  Foresti,  Professor  of  the  Italian  Language  in  the  Univer- 
eity  of  New- York.     One  vol.  12mo. 

OLLENDORFF'S  NEW  METHOD  OF  LEARNING  TO  READ,  WRITE 
AND    SPEAK    THE  GERMAN  LANGUAGE.     To  which   is  added  a 
systematic  outline  of  the  different  Parts  of  Speech,  their  inflection  and  use 
with  full   Paradigms,  and  a  complete  table  of  Irregular  Verbs.     15y  G.  J. 
Adler,  A.  B.     One  neat  vol.  12mo.    Price  $1  50. 

M.  Ollendorff's  system  commends  itself  as  the  best,  nay  the  only  one  of  the  '''"f '^^  «",  r)'?,'|;- 
■ire  a  practical  knowledge  of  the  language.  It  is  fast  superseding  all  others,  both  on  tlie  Con- 
tinent, in  England,  and  the  United  States.  _„,,  .  »t    ^^n  «  »« 

A  KEY  TO  THE  EXERCISES  OF  OLLENDORFF'S  GERMAN  GRAM- 
MAR.    One  volume  12mo  ,  uniform  with  the  Grammar.     Price  75  cents. 
A    DICTIONARY   OF    THE    ENGLISH    LANGUAGE:  containing   the 
Pronunciation,  Etymology,  and  Explanation  of  all  Words  authorized  by  em- 
inent writers  ;  to  which  are  added  a  Vocabulary  of  the  Roots  of  Lnglish 
Words,  and  an  accented  list  of  Greek,  Latin,  and  Scripture  Proper  Names. 
By  Alexander  Reid,  A.  M.,  Rector  of  the  Circus  School,  Edinburgh.     With 
a  Critical   Preface  by  Henry  Reed,  Professor  of  English  Literature  in  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania.     One  vol .  12mo.,  of  near  600  pages,  $1 . 
The  attention  of  Professors,  Students,  Tutors,  and  Heads  of  Families  is  solicited  to  this  volume. 
Notwithstanding  its  compact  size  and  distinctness  of  type,  it  comprises /orft/  thousand  words.     In 
addition  to  the  correct  orthoepy,  this  manual  of  words  contains  four  valuable  •'"P'°^«";«"Jf  •  1  or 
I.  The  primitive  word  is  given,  and  then  follow  the  immediate  derivatives  in  alphabetical  or- 
der, with  the  part  of  speech  appended.  .,  .    /.  J       -.u  .u«  ..««,«» 
li.  After  the  primitive  wold  is  inserted  the  original  term  whence  it  is  formed,  with  the  uame 
of  the  laneuage  from  which  it  ia  derived.                                                 ,     ,        ,....%  .- 
III?  There  is  subjoined  a  Vocabulary  of  the  Roots  of  English  words,  by  which  the  accurate 
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per Names,  is  added.                                                                                                    ,  ,    t^    t\        \\t  u 

LECTURES  ON  MODERN  HISTORY.    By  Thomas  Arnold,  D.  D.     With 

an  Introduction  and  Notes  by  Prof  Henry  Reed.     One  vol.  12mo.,  $1  -25. 

The  distinguished  topics  which  these  admimble  Lectures  compriHC  are  rich  in  thought  and  wis- 
dom, and  furnish  an  exuberant  source  of  study  and  menial  and  moral  improvement.  Ihe  notes 
of  Prof.  Reed  are  extremely  valuable  and  judicious. 

GENERAL   HISTORY   OF   CIVILIZATION  IN  EUROPE.      From   the 
Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire  to  the  French  Revolution.     By  M.   Guizot,  late 
Professor  of  History,  now  Prime  Minister  of  France.      With  occasional  Notes 
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sity of  the  city  of  New- York.     One  volume  l2mo.,   Price  $1. 
»«  M.  Guizot,  in  his  instructive  Lectures,  has  given  us  an  epitome  of  modern  history  distin- 
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peculiar  and  unbounded  praise-a  work  closely  condensed,  including  nothing  useless,  omitiing 
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A  MANUAL  OF  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  HISTORY;    comprising,   I. 

Ancient  History,  containmg  the  Political  History,  Gpographicnl  Position  and  S«c'«lfJ\«;®  °[  .^^« 
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Political  History,  and  the  Charfges  in  their  Social  Condit.on,  with  a  History  of  the  Colonies 
founded  by  Europeans.  By  W.  Cooke  Taylor.  LL  D  ,  of  Trinity  College,  bublin.  Revised, 
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York,  PeBOfjlvaDia,  and  Brown  Uuiversities,  and  teveral  leading  Academiea. 


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IV.  ECLOG^  OVIDIAN^,  with  English  Notes,  &c. 

rio  JihVrhl;i^r™^^%f  c'ir  °^^-^-  -^-b.  and  Dc 

V.  HISTORIC  ANTIQUE  EPITOME,  from  Cornelius  Nepos, 
Justm  &c.,  with  English  Notes,  Rules  for  Constructing,  Ques- 
tions, Geographical  Lists,  &c. 

»rardrd*'M';iferpL^!'n?K'^tf°'lr-^'°"  of  Classical  School  Books  :  and  its  publication  may  be  re- 
fSaie.  H«r«f,f''^^®»^^^^,^^"^t'"e'  in  respect  to  the  mode  of^  teaching  and  acquiring  Lan^ 
frJlmo  ""«^"^"'«  '^y  have  been  condemned  to  the  diudgery  of  goine  over  Latin  and  Gr?ek 
daJbroJf "''*'"'  '*•*  remotest  conception  of  the  value  of  5hat  they  w^e  feat; ig.  and  evert 
nofdf.  «Z^'^h?'°™  ""d  more  disgusted  with  the  dry  and  unmeaning  Lk  ;  but  now'by  M*  aZ 
?aki  »n  Z  ^^  method-aubstaniially  the  game  with  that  of  Ou.lr»DORFr-the  moment  ihlr 
how  th«  inm  "'^^  f  n^^^V"  °'  ^"'"'^J  ^^^y  ^^g'"  ^  '«"»  .entencea,  to  acquire  ideas!  to  aeJ 
on™  anH^v^  and  Greeks  expressed  themselves,  how  their  mode  of  expression  diffe'red  froiS 
haie  aLIVa^^""*  ^^l^  '*/  "P  *  '^^"^  of  knowledge  which  is  utterly  astonishing  to  those  who 
gJIJes.  "*"'^'*  ■""  "°°'*'  '°  '*•«  old-fa.hioned,  dry,  studious  way  of  learning  Zwi- 

hi.  nwn  u![!l°'**'  *^  ^^^^  ^"  had  the  good  sense  to  adopt  the  system  of  Nature.  A  child  learns 
mlZorl  \r^fy  ^"""^'"^  *J*'  ^^  ^?*"''  •^'"^  constantly  repeating  it  till  it  is  fastened  \n2l 
Gre^k  fn'vnWJ  same  way  At.  A.  puts  the  pupil  immediately  to  worS  at  Exercises  in  Latin  and 
puttli,?h^i^\"li.*lf  ^•"Tm'?::^  principles  of  the  language-words  are  supplied-the  moSe  of 
JndlKnbvrin!!^  .'S'°'''u-*P"f'''-^«''  shown  how  the  Ancients  expressed  their  idea.; 
ind«l!hi^  ?J^ '®P«**1"S  ^hese  things  again  and  agdin-iterwm  iterumque— ihe  docile  pupil  has  them 
indelibly  impressed  upon  his  memory  and  rooted  in  his  understanding.  ^    «a.inem 

rou^h  rii..r?^JI*'fl  Vl""""  fO'n«»  O"'  undef  the  most  favorable  auspices.  The  Editor  is  a  tho- 
the  utmii;  ..1^*'*'°'"  '"^  ''"  ^^"^  •"  practical  teacher  for  years  in  this  city  :  he  ha.  devoted 
iniivS^A  '*  ^^u**  *^°?"P'«te  revision  of  Mr.  Arnold's  Wo.ks,  has  corrected  several  errors  of 
ifU^I.^H«  .'^'^t  ®T'®i^"'"".'^?.»«*^'''''^  improved  various  matter,  in  the  early  volumei 
of  tK  wholl'  wi?  f.*^"^«<*  ™°«^  diligently  to  the  accurate  printing  and  meclianical  execution 
aid  CoTleJw  •""«'P»'«  ™o«'  confidently  the  speedy  adopUon  ef  these  workii  In  ooi  Schools 


lor&i  x^ellli•Jl▼a.ul(^  Kuw  vAvwii 


«^  ■■»  V  W»  va»a^«a 


/ 


AppleUm  4«  Co.'s  Valuable  PMicatioru. 

LECTURES  OT^  MODERN  HISTORY: 


BT 


THOMAS  ARNOLD,  D.D. 

With  an  Introduction  and  Notes,  by  Henry  Reed,  Professor  of  English  Literature  in 

the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 
One  handsome  volume  l2mo.  $1  25. 
This  volume  contains  the  first  lectures  which  were  delivered  by  Dr.  Arnold  after 
hif  RpDointment  as  Regius  Professor  of  History  in  the  University  of  Oifortl.  The  series 
of  Lectures  must  De  considered  merely  as  introductory  to  the  expanded  views  and  re- 
searches  which  the  author  would  have  developed  hml  his  life  been  Prolonged.  In  the 
crimarv  lecture  which  was  delivered  when  he  entered  upon  his  official  duty,  the  lecturer 
presented  his  definition  of  history  with  a  summary  of  the  duties  appertaining  to  the  pro- 
fessor of  it.  Appropriate,  dignified,  and  perspicuous,  it  exhibits  both  originality  and  power 
in  a  high  degree,  commingled  with  fehcitous  illustrations  of  the  characteristics,  effects, 
and  value  ofhistorical  literature.  Four  lectures  follow  on  the  study  of  history,  rich  in 
the  prominent  topics  of  inquiry  concerning  national  pro8penty--among  which,  vyith 
masterly  eloquence  and  deUneations  he  adverts  to  the  political  economy,  the  religious 
controversies,  the  national  wars,  and  the  geographical  relations  of  countries.—The  »ext 
three  lectures  contain  a  survey  of  European  history,  particularly  exarammg  the  revolu- 
tions  in  ecclesiastical  affairs,  and  the  continuous  struggks  to  cast  off  the  despotic  yoke, 
and  to  gain  and  establish  religious  and  civil  freedom.— The  eighth  lecture  displays  the 
nature  of  that  historical  testimony  which  claims  and  raente  credence.  In  this  disquisition 
the  author  exhibits  in  its  truth  and  forcefulness  the  law  of  evidence  and  the  method  of  its 
application  in  investigating  historical  facts.-The  course  of  lectures  is  an  elepnt  raemo- 
rial  of  the  author  whose  unquenchable  phUanthropy  and  unUring  zeal  in  behalf  of  the 
best  interests  of  mankind  render  his  decease  the  subject  of  regret  to  the  civilized  world. 

THE 

MISCELLANEOUS    WORKS 


THOMAS 


OF 

ARNOLD, 


D.D.J 


/.ate  Head  Master  at  Rugby  School,  and  Regius  Professor  of  History  in  the  UniversUy 

of  Oxford. 
One  handsome  8vo.  volume.     ^  00. 
The  topics  of  this  volume  are  greatly  diversified ;  including  disquisitions  on  the 
«  Church  "  on  "  Church  and  State,^'  in  its  existing  British  combinations— on  Scnptu. 
ral  and  Secular  History-and  on  Education,  with  various  other  subjects  of  Political 
Economy.    With  few  exceptions,  the  matter  is  of  general  application  and    ^sting  in 
terelt  •  and  the  whole  is  full  of  far  reaching  perspicacity,  and  a  burning  philanthropic 
attochmem  to  the  accelerating  progress  of  Sterling  knowledge,  genmne  freedom    ^ire 
Jehdonlnd  morality,  and  the  best  interesus  and  permanent  enioyment  of  mankind^  The 
ToEof  Miscellani^Bs  is  a  suitable  counterpart  to  the  "  Life  and  Correspondence  of 

Dl7r^dr  and  scholars  who  have  be^"  -  ^^^^Ply  i^^'^f  ^i"  ^^^^^^ 

eraDhv  will  be  gratified  to  ascertain  the  deliberate  judgment  of  the  Author,  "Pon  the 

SSSeJouTimp^rSJit  themes  which  his  "  Miscellaneous Vorks  "  so  richly  and  clearly 


announce. 


THE 


LIFE  AND  CORRESPONDENCE  OF  THOMAS  ARNOLD,  D.D. 

BY  THE  REV.  A.  P.  STANLEY,  A.M.  ^ 

2  vols,  of  English  edition  in  1  vol. 
It  is  not  Dossible  strictly  to  characterize  a  volume  so  peculiarly  miscellaneous  in  its 
con^^nT  K^tonlyt  the  individual  fully  portrayed  ;  but  his  official  re^ti«ns  are  d  s- 
SS^  thpir  nrorainencv.     Hence  to  Collegiate  Professors  and  other  Tutors  his  lif^ 
Fs^^nuS  whrncTtry  much  knowledge  respecting  tuition,  and  its  ass.>ci. 

atedXdes     The  volume  combines  a  mass  of  literary  history  and  portrait  of  his  con- 
Jempomries,  with  a  full  development  of  the  great  Oxford  controversy.     It  is  the  b^s 
JS^^^rfFnXnd  which  can  be  procured-and  is  an  essential  work  for  all  scholars 
ffprofeSlSmen^^^^^  a'ccurately  comprehend  the  character  and  ^^^^^^^^^ 

influence  of  many  persons  who  now  stand  prominent  m  Britaui,  especmlly  i"  connec 
ttou  S  Se  Church  of  England  and  the  tniversity  of  Oxford,  and  modem  hterature. 


^ 


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